Antiques Roadshow guest left in floods of tears at lamps wild price tag
Antiques Roadshow: 1925 lamp valued at up to $15,000
One Antiques Roadshow guest broke down in tears during a classic episode of the programme after discovering her beloved lamp was worth an eye-watering amount of money. The BBC series is a staple of British television and has been shown on screen for over four decades, and its popularity has also carried itself across the pond to America.
The US version is broadcast on PBS Network and during a classic episode, one guest was overcome with emotion after expert Arlie Sulka gave her verdict on a bespoke Louis Comfort Tiffany table lamp.
Before discovering the lamp’s value, the guest began explaining how she discovered the lamp. She told the expert: “I was taking a walk in the morning, and I got about four houses down from where I live, and there was a sign that said, ‘Free’.
“And so I walked by it the first day and then the second day. I thought about it again, and I thought, ‘Well, I’ll take this, and it’s pretty ugly, but I can give it to somebody, but it’s a lamp, so I’ll just take it.’
“So, when I brought it home, I ran over to my neighbour and asked him if he could cut the cord off and fix it.”
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“He said the plug alone is really old, and that I should wait and find out about the lamp before I cut it off,” she went on.
“He could always cut it off if I wanted to, but I should wait and find out about it before I do.”
As Arlie inspected the lamp further, she was able to tell the guest it was a Louis Comfort Tiffany lamp.
She said: “It’s actually made by Louis C. Tiffany Furnaces, Inc., which is one of the names of Louis Comfort Tiffany’s companies.
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“He had several names starting in the late 1870s, going into the early 1930s. This is the next-to-last name of the company. So, this would date from 1920 to about 1928.”
The guest shook her head in disbelief as the expert shared further details about her beloved item. She went on: “And you have a gilded-bronze base with the enamel design around the foot, and then what we call a damascene blown-glass shade with wonderful iridescence on the outside.
“These came in several different colours, and there’s sort of a hierarchy of value in the colours. This one is the caramel colour.
“Something like this is very desirable because it’s intact, and the shade is one of the better colours. This comes off.”
However, when Arlie came to disclosing how much it could fetch at auction if the guest were to sell it, she broke down in tears.
The expert stated: “In a retail venue, something like this could sell for between $10,000 (£7,958) and $15,000 (£11,937).”
The guest looked speechless and as she wiped a tear from her eye she replied: “Oh my, god.”
However, despite how much it was worth, Arlie explained the guest would need to get the lamp re-wired “because there’s absolutely no value in original wiring.”
Antiques Roadshow is available to stream on BBC iPlayer.
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