Authentic Tiffany lampshades go for millions of dollars. This “Pond Lily” lamp sold for $3,372,500 at Christie’s in New York in December 2018. Made by Tiffany Studios in the early 1900s, it was one of the costliest and rarest creations produced by the company, and retailed at $400.
Not to be confused…
Louis Comfort Tiffany (1848-1933) artist, decorator, designer.
His father Charles founded the jewelry house “Tiffany & Company” in 1837.
Dale Tiffany Lamps, founded in 1979, specialized in reproducing leaded lamp designs first developed by Louis Comfort Tiffany. (No relation.)
In 1885, Tiffany began making his own glass and he acquired Stanford Bray’s patent for the “copper foil” technique, which, by edging each piece of cut glass in copper foil and soldering the whole together to create his windows and lamps, made possible a level of detail previously unknown.
He was a pioneer for not only the method, but for what was to become the “American style” of stained glass contrasting the European style using lead channel which had dominated Europe for hundreds of years. Want to know more about Tiffany? Click here
I used to make them, but they took weeks, and were laborious. Good news is I don’t have to make them anymore, as a whole bunch of people in China make them. I don’t envy them.
The important thing is to know how to tell the difference if you have an authentic one or not. There should be a brass nameplate or tag soldered on the inside of the lampshade. The workmanship (actually most were made by women), is exquisite, detailed and near perfect. In addition, the brass bases for the lamps were another huge part of his business, and you’ll find signature or stamps on the authentic ones. For more info, go to this Christie’s link.
