This dramatic table lamp brings the outdoors into the indoors, lending a garden-like atmosphere to a domestic interior.  Louis Comfort Tiffany (1848–1933) was the son of the founder of Tiffany & Co., New York’s notable purveyor of luxury goods.  Trained as a painter, he later turned his attention to interior design, founding a successful firm and creating objects in glass, metal, ceramic, and other materials.  The American counterpart to Art Nouveau (see the Gallé glass vase opposite), Tiffany’s designs are characterized by their combination of materials and stylized forms based on nature, as in this example that merges the daffodil shade with a rare iris base.  The stained glass component was likely the first effort of one of his top designers, Clara Driscoll (1861–1944), who worked for Tiffany with a group of talented women.