In this blog I detail the Top 6 Antique Tiffany Floor Lamps sold at auction, including the outstanding Authentic Tiffany Dragonfly Floor Lamp on display at the Museum of Fine Art in Boston. Other historical Antique Tiffany Floor Lamps highlighted include a Poinsettia Floor Lamp and Daffodil Floor Lamp.
We then discuss where to buy Genuine Louis Comfort Tiffany Vintage Floor Lamps including the Macklowe Gallery in New York, top auction houses featuring Authentic Tiffany Lamps and auction listing sites that feature historical details of Real Tiffany Lamps sold at auction and upcoming auctions.
Table of Contents
- Antique Tiffany Floor lamps – Best Sold at Auction
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- 1. Tiffany Studios Hanging Head “Dragonfly” Floor Lamp
- 2. Tiffany Studios Patinated-Bronze and Leaded Favrile Glass Poinsettia Floor Lamp
- 3. Tiffany Studios Intaglio-Carved Favrile Glass, Turtleback Tile and Bronze Floor Lamp
- 4. Tiffany Studios Butterfly Etched Iridescent Favrile Glass and Bronze Floor Lamp
- 5. Tiffany Studios, Leaded Daffodil Floor Lamp
- 6. Tiffany Studios A Favrile Glass and Patinated Bronze Floor Lamp, circa 1900
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- Where to buy Real Tiffany Lamps – Genuine Tiffany Floor Lamp
- Tiffany Floor Lamp Clearance
If your looking to buy a Tiffany Style Floor Lamp then this review blog will give you the answers you need.
Antique Tiffany Floor lamps – Best Sold at Auction
Some examples of Louis Comfort Tiffany’s most famous tiffany floor lamps include:
1. Tiffany Studios Hanging Head “Dragonfly” Floor Lamp
The Museum of Fine Art in Boston have a fine example of the Tiffany Dragonfly Floor Lamp.
This lamp comes with a Mosaic and Turtle Back base and dates to between 1905 and 1910.
The dimensions of the lamp including shade and base are 33 1/8 x 22 1/2 inches.
In 1989 the lamp was acquired from Harvey Weinstein, by a Japanese collector Mr. Takeo Horiuch Mr Horiuch became an avid Tiffany collector and created the S. C. Tiffany Garden Museum in the coastal town of Matsue, Japan to house his collection. Arguably this collection became the most important Tiffany Studios and Art Nouveau to have existed. Circumstances dictated that the collection must be broken up and this Dragonfly Floor Lamp was acquired by Boston’s Museum of Fine Art via the auction house Michaan on December 12, 2012.
2. Tiffany Studios Patinated-Bronze and Leaded Favrile Glass Poinsettia Floor Lamp
This cone-shaped lamp features a myriad of poinsettia blossoms in mottled shades of pink, red and amethyst, set against a backdrop of green and amber leaves and a ground of mottled white and turquoise.
The dimensions of the lamp including shade and base are 64 x 28 1/4 inches.
The lamp coming from the Estate of Charles Davis White Thompson fetched $317,500 at Doyle’s Auction on September 29th, 2004.
Another example considered to be the finest Poinsettia floor lamp was sold at Christies on December 10, 1998 for $795,000, exceeding its estimate of $400,00-$600,000. This lamp was 78 in x 26 inches and dates to around 1910.
The Tiffany Poinsettia Floor Lamps were said to have been inspired by Louis Comfort Tiffany’s love of nature as a Christmas piece, hence the red and green coloring.
According to a write up by Paul Doros for Sotheby’s the Poinsettia floor lamps first appeared for sale by Tiffany Studios around December, 2008. Poinsettia’s had already established a Christmas appeal in the United States since their introduction in 1828. These lamps were promoted as having a “distinctly Christmas atmosphere”.
The shades were available in six different sizes from 14 to 26 inches.
The table lamp version was not introduced for a further three years and was intended as a more affordable version, that was a “practical Christmas Gift of permanent value”.
3. Tiffany Studios Intaglio-Carved Favrile Glass, Turtleback Tile and Bronze Floor Lamp
An example of this lamp was sold by Christies in December 8th, 2000 for $25,850, exceeding the reserve price of $18,000 – $24,000.
Dating to around 1910, the lamp design feature three intaglio-carved dragonflies, a butterfly and a fly. The background color of the shade is a “Murano” green.
The dimensions of the lamp including shade and base are 53 1/2 x 10 1/2 inches.
4. Tiffany Studios Butterfly Etched Iridescent Favrile Glass and Bronze Floor Lamp
Waddington’s Auction House of Toronto, Canada sold this Tiffany Floor Lamp on June 10th, 2009 for more than double the top end of its reserve price, realising $25,200
The dimensions of the lamp including shade and base are 54 x 10.2 inches.
5. Tiffany Studios, Leaded Daffodil Floor Lamp
This gorgeous Tiffany Floor lamp was sold by James D. Julia auction house on November 28, 2012.
Realising over 9 times the upper reserve price, the lamp realized $13,800 at the auction. While not as intricate as the Dragonfly floor lamp above, I personally believe this was excellent value for the delightful design, number of glass pieces and color palette.
Featuring yellow daffodils and green leaves, set against a mottled blue background the shade rests upon an undecorated brass junior floor base.
The shade dates from 1919 and the complete lamp measures 64 x 20 inches.
6. Tiffany Studios A Favrile Glass and Patinated Bronze Floor Lamp, circa 1900
This Tiffany Bronze Floor Lamp sold at Bonham’s auction house in London, United Kingdom on October 7th, 2015.
The lamp dating to around 1900 realized $1500 at auction.
Being one of Tiffany’s earlier pieces it is simpler in design than the Dragonfly or Daffodil floor lamps and does not feature the copper foil method of manufacture.
The dimensions of this lamp were not listed.
The six floor lamps listed above range in value from around $2000 to over $300,000. The values reached at auction date back to as far as the year 2000, so there is sure to be a significant increase in the value of these authentic Tiffany Floor Lamps if they went to auction today.
Check out some of the Most Expensive Tiffany Lamps in the World
Where to buy Real Tiffany Lamps – Genuine Tiffany Floor Lamp
The Macklowe Gallery
The Macklowe Gallery features an extensive range of original tiffany floor lamps from their gallery in Park Avenue, New York.
Macklowe Gallery Tiffany Lamps range from the entire period of Tiffany Studios from around 1900 to 1928. The Tiffany Lamps on offer are all signed Tiffany Studios New York or Tiffany Furnaces.
Macklowe’s website features excellent photography of the lamps and detailed descriptions.
Check out the Macklowe gallery here:
http://www.macklowegallery.com
Auction Houses
Christies, Sotheby’s, Doyles auction houses all regularly feature Tiffany Studios works for sale.
Christies has the following guide to authentic Tiffany Lamps:
https://www.christies.com/features/Tiffany-lamps-10-things-you-need-to-know-9542-3.aspx
There are various websites that list Tiffany items both historically and that are coming up for sale. My favorite amongst these are:
https://www.liveauctioneers.com
http://www.artnet.com/artists/tiffany-studios/
Tiffany Floor Lamp Clearance
Other than at Auctions or the unlikely find of a rare Tiffany Lamp at an Art Craft Market, Car Boot Sale or Yard Sale, then you will probably need to look at Tiffany Style Lamps, rather than expect to find any Tiffany Floor Lamps clearance sales.
I discuss in detail in this blog Tiffany Style Lamps. And I talk in this blog about Dale Tiffany one of the leading contemporary manufacturers of Tiffany Style Lamps .
Acknowledgements:
https://www.invaluable.com/blog/inside-the-archives-tiffany-lamp-prices/
https://www.mfa.org/collections/object/hanging-head-dragonfly-table-lamp-567459
http://www.sothebys.com/en/auctions/ecatalogue/2018/tiffany-dreaming-in-glass-n09958/lot.323.html
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