How to Tell If a Tiffany Lamp is Authentic

Persons use the phrase Tiffany lamp often to refer to any leaded glass lamp. An authentic Tiffany lamp is a lamp that was produced by Louis Comfort Tiffany, who was the son of the man who founded Tiffany and Firm, the well-known shop in New York on 57th street. Tiffany who initially started his artistic career as a painter, became interested in developing fine decorative arts, which he produced in his factories beginning in the late 1880's. Tiffany is most frequently associated with the leaded decorative lamps, which he produced, nonetheless he furthermore created fine bronze pieces including desk sets, candlesticks, glass mosaics and leaded glass windows for commercial and residential use. For the reason that Tiffany's lamps bring extremely high costs, it is important to realize some basics about the lamps. There are several distinctive varieties of lamps that were created by Tiffany. He produced leaded glass lamps in both floral and geometric patterns, which includes floor lamps, table lamps and chandeliers. The leaded lamps were initially produced with glass that was not created by Tiffany. As his company evolved he started producing his own glass which was of superior good quality and innovative. The lamps had been Tiffanys's most prosperous commercial venture. The value of individual lamps are based on model kind and quality of glass.

Straightforward lamps like an acorn are a lot less useful than complex forms like dragonfly's or wisteria. Currently there is much much more interest in floral lamps than geometric lamps. Prices for florals are much higher. Size does matter. In common the bigger the lamp the higher the cost: especially for the identical form. A twenty inch dragonfly is worth far more than an eighteen inch 1. Even in the later periods of production he frequently utilized commercial glass produced by Kokomo Glass Co. Lamps with even more "studio" glass are generally worth alot more. Some of the unique glass that Tiffany Produced included mottled glass with cloud like patches of dark and light areas, dichroic glass which lit up a various color than when unlit, confetti or fracture glass, turtleback tiles which are iridescent thick pieces of glass that came in greens ,blues and reds and a large number of unique forms of glass jewels. Many Tiffany lamp shades are signed, but lots of are not signed, so the lack of a signature does not mean the lamp is not genuine

The Tiffany lamp bases are incredibly heavy and produced of bronze. The bases are signed Tiffany Studios New York and have a model number which is distinctive to the specific style of lamp. He produced more than 300 unique lamp bases. When studying any lamp base attributed to Tiffany you will obtain the good quality of the casting and detail nearly unparalleled by any other lamp manufacturer.

When purchasing a Tiffany lamp it is crucial to know who you are buying it from. Considering that lamp restoration and even forgery has become so sophisticated, it serves a new collector properly to acquire from a effectively known dealer. Although you will pay more from a recognized expert, this protection from obtaining heavily restored lamps or reproductions, is nicely worth the extra costs. Various lamp buyers assume that if a lamp is getting sold at a nationally identified auction house, it can be assumed that the lamp is with out complications. Unfortunately this is not the case and 1 will need to proceed with wonderful caution when buying at auctions unless you are a seasoned collector or a willing to hire an professional to evaluate lamps for you, which in most instances is the prudent course.