Of course you don't want a fake or forged lamp. I personally define a fake as an unsigned "wannabe Tiffany" that is perhaps old, and "Tiffany style" but which was not made by Tiffany Studios. I define "forged" as a lamp that looks like a decent to very good example of a lamp Tiffany Studios, but which has non original Tiffany Studios signature marks on the shade, and or the base. These are seen on many lamps offered for sale since the early 1960's. They are sometimes made with old die stamps, but often made from newer stamps that usually not of the same quality.
Below is a great example of an authentic, antique Tiffany lamp that might not be a "good "buy," cost wise, since it is a rare lamp that commanded a high price in competitive bidding at auction, but it is certainly nice to look at for many collectors. It is a rare Tiffany "Pink Lotus" pattern lamp. It sold at Christie's Auction House in December 2013 for $2.8 million.
When considering buying an authentic Tiffany lamp, learn to look closely for prior restorations or other things not right, such as:
- Traces of glue (which is sometimes put in pane cracks to pull them together or make them not show as easily).
- Glass colors or textures that do not match or look right.
- Sloppy solder spots or uneven soldering inside the shade usually, whereas the rest of the shade's soldering is smooth and even.
- Unusual green or "froggy" green patination to the shade solder and other metal, often used by forgers in a sloppy attempt to simulate an old patina; but they go overboard.
- Look at the signature marks on both shade and base. The simple rule is that TIFFANY STUDIOS NEW YORK is in all capital plain letters and no lower case letters at all. Also important on shade and base signatures is that the tops of the letters are in good alignment, meaning no crooked letters an no "up and down" letters. If the signature is on a curved spot or rolled edge, it will be of course not as clean and precise. Look at other things in those cases, including the base signature if the lamp has a base.
Above is a good example of a rather poorly forged Tiffany Studios mark, although it could fool many people. Note both the use of upper and lower case letters and the uneven alignment of the numbers below the signature mark.
About "one of a kind" and "prototype" Tiffany lamps
I receive calls and view emailed photos at least a half dozen times a year from people who claim they have an authentic Tiffany lamp but because it was so early, or "one of a kind" or a "prototype," there are no markings at all, and usually it does not even look anything like an authentic Tiffany Studios lamp. Some of the lamps I have seen have even had wooden bases! If someone knows better, please feel free to prove it, but I don't recall even being told by a reliable source or having read that Tiffany ever had prototypes that survived or that he did "one of a kind" lamps.
Certainly the "Cobweb" and "Bat" lamps are very, very rare. But even they were not "one of a kind." When looking to buy beware of stories that use the terms "one of a kind" or "prototype." Perhaps someday someone will find at a garage sale or thrift store a "one of a kind" lamp that is determined by the world's experts to be a prototype of "one of a kind." If so, I hope to be there at the same time, so as to purchase the undiscovered original Rembrandt or Pollock painting that is in the same sale.
More to come...
Dennis
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