Tiffany Glass & Decorating Co. Lamp, ca. 1892
GUEST:
This used to hang in my parents' home in Milwaukee on the East Side. When my parents bought the house in 1965, it was there at the time. It hung in the house for the 40 years that my parents lived in it.
APPRAISER:
When was it taken down?
GUEST:
It was taken down probably 15 to 18 years ago, because some of the links gave way.
APPRAISER:
That's probably because it's a little old.
GUEST:
And it's heavy.
APPRAISER:
Yes. At some point, that probably can be addressed. This is a very early Tiffany piece.
GUEST:
(gasps) Oh, my gosh!
APPRAISER:
It actually dates from about 1892. And it's before Louis Comfort Tiffany's company became Tiffany Studios, which is what everybody says. But in the 1890s, the name of the company was Tiffany Glass and Decorating Company.
GUEST:
Okay.
APPRAISER:
He had taken a lease on a glassmaking company. He was using their facilities in Brooklyn from about 1881 to about 1892. The name of that company was Heidt, H-E-I-D-T. And that's where, on all likelihood, these beautiful opalescent glass pieces were made, as well as the piece that sits in the middle of the fixture.
GUEST:
Okay.
APPRAISER:
Now, something like this wouldn't be signed, but I saw it and it had his name all over it. Because this is how Tiffany would do a lot of his interior decoration projects in that period of time would look something like this, where you would have this exotically twisted metal made to look like rope, and covered in a silver finish, usually with opalescent glass. These are little opalescent protruding tiles, which sometimes you will see in the early mosaics of the period. You'll see them in the Tiffany windows of the period, but also in fixtures like this. The style had a Moorish influence. Tiffany was fascinated with Orientalism and Moorish design. And it's reflected in much of his interior decoration.
GUEST:
Wow.
APPRAISER:
What was really exciting to see was that you had all the metal parts. You never find the canopy that goes, fits into the ceiling, or the pole here that... At the very bottom, there's one socket for one light bulb.
GUEST:
Right.
APPRAISER:
This is an early lighting fixture, too.
GUEST:
It is.
APPRAISER:
Because even at this time, he was making gas fixtures.
GUEST:
Okay.
APPRAISER:
And sometimes they made fixtures that were piped for gas and electricity at the same time, because they didn't trust the electricity. This period of his work is obscure. You don't see a lot of it-- most of it doesn't survive.
GUEST:
Wow, my heart is pounding. (chuckles)
APPRAISER:
Something like this, because you have all its parts, and even because... I know you had said there are two pieces that came apart, even with that-- it's something that could be easily fixed, and this could be wired, again, for electricity-- this would sell in a retail shop for between $15,000 and $20,000.
GUEST:
Wow. Wow. (chuckling) Wow! I am so amazed. Whew!
Appraisal Details
Executive producer Marsha Bemko shares her tips for getting the most out of ANTIQUES ROADSHOW.
Value can change: The value of an item is dependent upon many things, including the condition of the object itself, trends in the market for that kind of object, and the location where the item will be sold. These are just some of the reasons why the answer to the question "What's it worth?" is so often "It depends."
Note the date: Take note of the date the appraisal was recorded. This information appears in the upper left corner of the page, with the label "Appraised On." Values change over time according to market forces, so the current value of the item could be higher, lower, or the same as when our expert first appraised it.
Context is key: Listen carefully. Most of our experts will give appraisal values in context. For example, you'll often hear them say what an item is worth "at auction," or "retail," or "for insurance purposes" (replacement value). Retail prices are different from wholesale prices. Often an auctioneer will talk about what she knows best: the auction market. A shop owner will usually talk about what he knows best: the retail price he'd place on the object in his shop. And though there are no hard and fast rules, an object's auction price can often be half its retail value; yet for other objects, an auction price could be higher than retail. As a rule, however, retail and insurance/replacement values are about the same.
Verbal approximations: The values given by the experts on ANTIQUES ROADSHOW are considered "verbal approximations of value." Technically, an "appraisal" is a legal document, generally for insurance purposes, written by a qualified expert and paid for by the owner of the item. An appraisal usually involves an extensive amount of research to establish authenticity, provenance, composition, method of construction, and other important attributes of a particular object.
Opinion of value: As with all appraisals, the verbal approximations of value given at ROADSHOW events are our experts' opinions formed from their knowledge of antiques and collectibles, market trends, and other factors. Although our valuations are based on research and experience, opinions can, and sometimes do, vary among experts.
Appraiser affiliations: Finally, the affiliation of the appraiser may have changed since the appraisal was recorded. To see current contact information for an appraiser in the ROADSHOW Archive, click on the link below the appraiser's picture. Our Appraiser Index also contains a complete list of active ROADSHOW appraisers and their contact details and biographies.