Even broken or altered Tiffany lamps are worth a pretty penny. The James Julia auctioneers catalog, highlighting its sale back in November, features a Tiffany Studios Senior floor lamp base.
The lamp has an onion decoration on the base, no lamp shade, and wire tendrils going up the stem. It was rewired with plastic cord, the heat cap had been repaired and the socket guts were replaced. Even with the alterations and missing shade, it sold for $31,402.
This piece wasn’t the only big seller at the auction. Other complete lamps sold for thousands of dollars, and smaller lamp parts, like slip and heat caps, that sold high as well. A bronze slip cap used to hold a glass shade in place was purchased for $2,074, and a bronze heat cap was purchased for $1,837. It is assumed the buyers will use these pieces to restore some important and expensive lamps.
Do you have an expensive designer lamp that is broken? Hold on to the pieces — they may be worth a lot someday!
Courtesy of Kovels