TIFFANY STUDIOS, Corona, New York (parent company)<br /> TIFFANY FURNACES, Corona, New York (manufacturer)<br /> Clara DRISCOLL (designer)<br/> <em>Wisteria, table lamp</em> (1903-1905) <!-- (front) --><br /> glass, lead, bronze (patinated), electrical components<br /> 68.6 x 47.0 cm diameter<br /> National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne<br /> Purchased, NGV Women's Association, 2018<br /> 2018.649<br /> <!--134705-->
Observations

Observations: Moments in Design History

Learn what has shaped global design across centuries, from key historical moments, materials, manufacturers and design movements.

Across three seminars, expert historians, writers and curators from around the world, examined these topics alongside the NGV’s leading collection of historical decorative arts and design. Looking back through key periods of history, from craftmanship in India to the birth of Bauhaus, and learn how they have informed design thinking and making today.

The NGV’s annual international online seminar series for 2023, examined the impact and influence of design across key historical moments and movements. With a focus on the NGV’s leading collection of historical decorative arts and design, historians, writers and curators from around the world examine the movements, materials and manufacturers that shaped global design across centuries. Topics included the role of design in the emergence of trade relations between Asia and Europe, and the rich design histories of Japan, South Korea and India.

Attendees also learned about key international design manufacturers including Wedgwood and Sèvres, and the wide-reaching influences of Art Nouveau, Shaker and Bauhaus design. With spotlight focuses on major twentieth century designers, Observations offered a range of perspectives on the enduring influence of design, experienced through the depth and breadth of the NGV Collection.

Participants heard from international experts including acclaimed UK-based design critic Alice Rawsthorn OBE; Dr Christian Witt-Dörring, Neue Galerie, USA; Hanai Hisaho, The National Museum of Modern Art, Japan; Misun Rheem, International Academy of Ceramics, South Korea; Sarah Margolis-Pineo, John Keith Russell Antiques, USA and Sarah Piram, Victoria and Albert Museum, UK.

The entire collection of presentations, conversations and lectures was transcribed into a printed publication, giving audiences the opportunity to revisit the content from Observations: Moments in Design History.

Seminar
Design in the Early Modern Period

Design in the Early Mordern Period will look at decorative arts of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries focussing on materials and technical innovation. The rise of trade between Asia and Europe in the seventeenth century led to an influx of luxury goods into Europe and prompted profound developments in the design, decoration and manufacture of objects.
Seminar
Traditional Crafts and the Rise of Modernism

This seminar showcases the importance of traditional design and craft skills through daily life in India, Shaker communities in America and the Mingei movement in Japan. Moving into the twentieth century, the rise of Modernism will be explored through key movements including suffrage and Art Nouveau.
Seminar
Twentieth Century Design: 1900–1980s

Discover the designers and design styles that reimagined modernism and exported radical new ideas across the world, including the work of designers Isamu Noguchi, George Nakashima, Charlotte Perriand and Ray and Charles Eames, and the Bauhaus, Milan Memphis and Surrealist movements.


Observations: Moments in Design History is generously supported by an Anonymous donor.