Tiffany Studios Lantern for the Vanderbilt Mansion

Lantern for the Moorish Smoking Room in the Cornelius Vanderbilt II Mansion
Louis Comfort Tiffany
Circa 1881

Created by Louis Comfort Tiffany circa 1881, this extraordinary lantern was designed for the Moorish Smoking Room of Cornelius Vanderbilt II’s palatial Fifth Avenue mansion. One of eight unique lanterns created for the room, it formed part of one of the most theatrical interiors of the Gilded Age. Tiffany had recently returned from travels through North Africa and Spain, drawing inspiration from the Alhambra and Islamic architecture as he developed the room’s distinct aesthetic. The resulting interior was hailed by period observers as “the most important example of decorative work yet attempted in this country.”

Octagonal and baluster-shaped, the lantern features an intricate patinated bronze framework inset with panels of leaded, rippled white glass and iridescent “fire opal” glass. When illuminated, the glass produces a warm, flame-like glow, translating the visual language of Moorish lighting into Tiffany’s distinctive vocabulary of glass, metal and light. Originally mounted to the walls of the smoking room, the lanterns were later removed and some converted for hanging.

Louis Comfort Tiffany was among the premier artistic craftsmen of the Gilded Age, creating coveted interiors and objects for America’s wealthiest families. The Vanderbilt mansion, completed in 1883 and occupying an entire Fifth Avenue block between 57th and 58th Streets, was demolished in 1926, and much of its extraordinary interior was lost. The eight Moorish Smoking Room lanterns were among the elements preserved, later passing to Loew’s State Theatre in Syracuse. With only eight created for the Vanderbilt commission, surviving examples are exceptionally rare.

32" length x 14" diameter

Literature:
“Decorative Notes,” The Decorator and Furnisher, vol. 30, no. 3, June 1897, p. 87
H. A. La Farge, “John La Farge’s Work in the Vanderbilt Houses,” The American Art Journal, vol. XVI, no. 4, Autumn 1984, p. 65
H. W. Desmond and H. Croly, Stately Homes in America from Colonial Times to the Present Day, New York, 1903, p. 507
J. L. Yarnall, “Souvenirs of Splendor: John La Farge and the Patronage of Cornelius Vanderbilt II,” The American Art Journal, vol. 26, no. 1/2, 1994, p. 88
M. A. Johnson, Louis Comfort Tiffany: Artist for the Ages, London, 2005, pp. 63–66
M. Gay Humphreys, “The Cornelius Vanderbilt House,” The Art Amateur, vol. 8, no. 6, May 1883, p. 136
R. Koch, Louis C. Tiffany, Rebel in Glass, New York, 1964, pp. 20–21, pp. 42–43

Provenance:
Cornelius Vanderbilt II, New York, acquired directly from the artist, circa 1881
Loew’s State Theatre, Syracuse, NY, after 1926
Private collection, Colorado, circa 1977
Private collection, Minnesota
Private collection, Colorado, since 1990s
M.S. Rau, New Orleans
Private collection, Wyoming
M.S. Rau, New Orleans