I will be writing blogs again, but only occasionally.
What can I tell you about the Tiffany Studios lamp market that you don’t already know? It’s booming! Following are a few results from various auctions over the last few months.
Fontaine’s, Pittsfield, MA, held a Fine & Decorative Arts auction on September 28, 2024. The sale was a fabulous success, grossing approximately $6.5 million, including buyer’s premium. You can click the various links to see the complete sale results.
Lot #45 was a beautiful 22″ diameter Nasturtium table lamp. The shade had strong color, but the base is what really made this lamp special. It was a very rare, inlaid mosaic tile base with green Turtleback tiles. Estimated to sell for $300,000 – $500,000, it flew past its high estimate to sell for $825,000, including buyer’s premium.
Another fantastic result from the sale was lot #10, a 15″ Spider table lamp on an inverted mushroom base. It sold for $143,750, including buyer’s premium, against a pre-sale estimate of $40,000 – $60,000 (possibly a world record for a Tiffany Spider lamp). That’s quite an impressive result, due mainly to the fact that Spider lamps are usually green. The blue mottled glass was very rare and beautiful.
Christie’s New York held a Tiffany sale on December 11, 2024, with total sales of $3,851,820 for a small sale with only 38 lots. The top lamp of the sale was #233, a gorgeous and rare 26″ Oriental Poppy floor lamp, with exquisite red flowers. It realized $504,000, including buyer’s premium, against an estimate of $400,000 – $600,000.
The top lot of the Christie’s sale, #210, was a Tiffany landscape window with a dogwood tree and birds, circa 1917. It exceeded its high estimate of $800,000, realizing $1,108,800, including buyer’s premium.
Sotheby’s was busy two days later on December 13, 2025, with 3 Tiffany sales on the same day. The first was The Doros Collection: The Art Glass of Louis Comfort Tiffany Volume IV. It had total sales of $2,661,120, including buyer’s premium. The second sale was Dreaming in Glass: Featuring Property From The Metropolitan Museum of Art, with total sales of $6,653,000. The third sale was Louis Comfort Tiffany, Artistry in Glass: The Seymour and Evelyn Holtzman Collection, with total sales of $7,093,920. The total for all three sales was an impressive $16,408,040.
The top lamp of the three sales was lot #307, a 26″ Oriental Poppy, in the Dreaming in Glass sale. It was estimated to sell for $400,000 – $600,000, but sold for a stunning $1,140,000, including buyer’s premium. In my opinion, the example at Christie’s was better than the one at Sotheby’s, but regardless, Sotheby’s sold theirs for twice the price. Kudos to the Christie’s buyer!
One last thing. Sometime on the weekend of January 11-12, 2025, a red decorated Tiffany vase was stolen from my booth at the Miami Beach Convention Center Antiques Show. Following is a photo. If you know anything about this, I’ll pay $1,000 commission for the return of the vase. In the meantime, the police are looking at video footage of the theft to try and see if they can find the perpetrator.
Contrary to popular belief, I have not retired. I’m still in business both exhibiting at a few select shows and buying and selling from my website. Please let me know what you’re looking for or wish to sell.
