Tiffany Studios Lotus Bell Table Lamp, ca. 1903
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GUEST:
Well, I inherited the lamp a year ago when my father passed away. Back, um, in the '50s, my grandmother worked for wealthy people in Atherton and Menlo Park area, and apparently she found this lamp that was down in the basement-- it was a dirt basement-- crusted with dirt, and she brought it home, cleaned it up, and she gave it to my mother. I did some research on it. I, uh, found out it was a, a Tiffany Lotus Bell table lamp.
APPRAISER:
You're correct. This is a Tiffany Studios Lotus Bell table lamp. The lotus shade itself is supposed to resemble a lotus leaf opening up. And the lotus design came in two different forms, the bell shape-- as you see here-- and then a nice flat shape, and that was around 25 or 26 inches in diameter. And this is an actually, kind of an early one. I try not to stress the importance on a signature, but in this case, it does matter. The underside of the base is stamped with the Tiffany Glass and Decorating Company monogram, as well as "Tiffany Studios, New York," and a five-digit number. The five-digit numbers indicate that this was made between 1902 and 1904. And after that, uh, as we were going towards 1906, when they started to publish catalogues, the catalogues usually had, uh, three-digit numbers or four-digit numbers that corresponded with the numbers on the lamps. And, and so we know this is an early one. Additionally, on the shade, there's a teeny little tag that is stamped "Tiffany Studios, New York." That tag was usually applied to a shade between 1902 and 1904. The patina on the leading on the shade does not match the patina on the base. This, this kind of finish is something that you'd see early on. We called it a statuary bronze finish. But the leading on the shade has a brown patina on it. But nevertheless, this is an original. You see this switch here. That's not an original Tiffany switch. What you would normally find on this kind of base would be a matching little ribbed switch, which basically echoes what's going on in the fluted design on the base.
GUEST:
Mm-hmm.
APPRAISER:
The socket's been changed. That does affect the value of the lamp, although it can be put back. People do have original parts. It's been very elastic with this. In 2020, a lamp like this sold at auction for $17,000. In 2019, a lamp like this sold for $37,500 at auction, which makes you worry a little bit. (chuckling) However, however, they are going up because this is a very desirable kind of lamp. Collectors today are very drawn to the more geometric lamps, which this is.
GUEST:
Mm-hmm.
APPRAISER:
In the condition it's in, I would say $35,000 to $45,000 retail.
GUEST:
Wow.
APPRAISER:
If you were able to ch, get the switch and the socket back the way it should be...
GUEST:
Mm-hmm.
APPRAISER:
...it would be on the higher end, maybe $45,000 to $50,000.
GUEST:
Wow. That's exciting. I love buried treasure.
APPRAISER:
Me, too. (laughs)
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