Daily and weekly I receive forms from my web site and photos in email from people who think they have an authentic Tiffany lamp, due to a family story (very common) or due to what a dealer or auctioneer or well meaning friend told them.
Forgeries and modern Tiffany reproductions aside, if people would simply look at the many photo examples on my web site on the examples page at:
http://www.antiquetiffanylamps.com/examples
and look at what I have posted on Google+ articles and other places, they would be able to tell if a shade has a chance of being authentic Tiffany or not. There is a clear difference visually in a "panel shaded" hanging shade, common in the 1915-35 time period and beyond, and in a leaded shaded hanging lamp that could be an authentic Tiffany lamp.
Below are two very clear photo examples of what I see often - a "panel shaded" lamp with glass top "crown" - not a shape or a style of lamp Tiffany Studios ever made - and a leaded shaded lamp (small pieces of colored glass, soldered together, to create a geometric, dragonfly or floral design in the shade) - which was what Tiffany Studios made and sold.
Above is an old (but not nearly old enough) hanging shade that many people would call a "Tiffany lamp." It is clearly not authentic Tiffany because of the shape, the fact that it is not a "leaded glass" shade (rather, a "paneled glass" shade"), and unless it was added later to fool someone, it will not have a Tiffany Studios signature mark on the inner bottom rim edge. The glass is what is loosely referred to as "slag" glass. Compare this lamp shade to the photos of a leaded, authentic, antique Tiffany shade below. There is no comparison as to shade shape, glass type, construction or other things. These paneled glass shades (in hanging, table and floor lamp styles) have been made since the time Tiffany was making his lamps, and continue to be made by new lamp companies. Some companies call them "Tiffany" and some do not. I don't approve of that unless they use the word "style" or "reproduction," yet many of the companies making them do not add those important descriptive words.
Above,is an authentic Tiffany hanging lamp. It is in the "cone" shape, which I show on my web site as one of the only shapes of shades Tiffany used in his lamps. It is made, as you can see, using many small, various shaped and colored glass pieces, which are soldered together to form the floral design. Compare this to the "paneled glass" shade above with glass top crown, and it should be clear what is a leaded shaded lamp and what is not. This can help clear up many people's idea of what might have a chance of being an "authentic Tiffany lamp" or simply an old (even 90 years old!) hanging shade with some colored or patterned glass in it.
Even if the top shade had a floral design or fruit in it, the shape is totally wrong and it would be clear that the pieces of glass were much larger. Many lamps which people think to be authentic Tiffany lamps are loosely "Tiffany style," if they have smaller soldered pieces of glass in them, and are not panel shaded. But the things that will differentiate them from an authentic Tiffany lamp will be the shape of the shade, the pattern/design, usually the lack of a signature mark, and the general quality.
Tiffany lamp shades and bases were always bronze alloy. The exceptions were a few art pottery bases made (still signed Tiffany Studios," and some bases (rare) which were made from Tiffany art glass. If a lamp is "pot metal" or any other metal other than bronze alloy, unless it is a very good quality forgery or very good quality reproduction, (a few of those companies will use a bronze alloy) it will never be an authentic, original Tiffany Studios lamp. If it is new and good quality, somewhere on the base or the shade there will almost always be a factory or company name. And that name will not say "Tiffany Studios New York" as the authentic lamps are marked. Of course any mark such as, "Made in USA" or "Made in China" automatically takes any chance of the lamp being an authentic Tiffany lamp out of the equation. His lamps were all made in New York, and he never used those marks.
Tiffany lamp shades and bases were always bronze alloy. The exceptions were a few art pottery bases made (still signed Tiffany Studios," and some bases (rare) which were made from Tiffany art glass. If a lamp is "pot metal" or any other metal other than bronze alloy, unless it is a very good quality forgery or very good quality reproduction, (a few of those companies will use a bronze alloy) it will never be an authentic, original Tiffany Studios lamp. If it is new and good quality, somewhere on the base or the shade there will almost always be a factory or company name. And that name will not say "Tiffany Studios New York" as the authentic lamps are marked. Of course any mark such as, "Made in USA" or "Made in China" automatically takes any chance of the lamp being an authentic Tiffany lamp out of the equation. His lamps were all made in New York, and he never used those marks.
Below are examples of a Tiffany style table lamp, and below that an authentic Tiffany Studios table lamp, (from c.1910-20) with the proper signature marks on the base (always signed) and on the shade (signed most of the time). The differences again, should be obvious between lack of signature on the base at least, as well as looking at the shape of the shades. Again, the only shapes of shades Tiffany made can be shown in many books and also in photos on my web site at Antique Tiffany Lamps.
The above "leaded glass" lamp is made by a very reputable modern company, but it is a reproduction lamp, in the "Tiffany style" only. It's value is that of a reproduction, and it is not something I would ever suggest anyone buy in hopes it will someday (perhaps in 75-100 years) be more valuable than it is when bought.
Above is an authentic Tiffany lamp. It has many various sized colored glass pieces, soldered together to make up what it referred to as a "geometric" pattern. It will also have the mark "Tiffany Studios New York" (in all capital letters) stamped into the bottom of the base, as well as a model number. Chances are great that the shade's inner rim will have the same signature mark on a small area, sometimes also with a model number. Again, this shade is in the cone shape that Tiffany used. The lamp above this lamp as you can see, has a large, wavy, irregular border, which Tiffany Studios did not use in their shades.
There are many other clues and guidelines to look at when determining if a lamp is an authentic Tiffany lamp or not. Some of those things are written about and shown in photos on my web site at Antique Tiffany Lamps. I hope this helps. There are also good books you can buy or get from libraries on my web site for further reference on this topic.
More to come...
Dennis
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