Louis Comfort Tiffany liked accuracy in the scale of flowers depicted on his shades. Consequently, the generous size of a large Tiffany Studios 28″ cone-shaped shade is the perfect vehicle for featuring hollyhock flowers.
Hollyhocks come in over 60 varieties, and their tall erect stalks blossom with flowers in a rainbow of colors. Because of their height and showy blooms, hollyhocks are best planted in home gardens as a background flower. In the Victorian language of flowers, hollyhocks represent fertility and ambition.
Large floral shades always take a lot of planning and digging through our glass options to execute successfully. To create this shade, we dug deep into our library of glass to find a dazzling variety of colors and textures to bring the shade to life. The green/blue sky glass was made by Schlitz Studios almost 30 years ago. The glass has a medium transparency that is enhanced by a delicate surface mottle that traps the light within a slight haze.
Flower colors for this shade represent the full spectrum found in nature. Red, pink, white, yellow, purple and peach tones coexist in harmony above deepening green foliage. Ring mottled, streaky, and rippled glasses were employed together to create a pleasing blend of colors and textures. A lush green rippled glass by Schlitz Studios was used for the lower border row to give the shade a visual anchor from which the flowers ascend.
Primarily used as chandelier fixtures, 28″ cone shades such as this also make dramatic table or floor lamps. We created this Hollyhock shade as a showroom piece, and intended to hang it as a chandelier fixture. While waiting for an opportunity to hang the shade, we displayed it on the Perforated base. A client visiting our showroom liked the combination so much that this lamp will now be on display in their home as shown.
