'Antiques Roadshow' guests break down in tears after expert tells them value of their mom's 'ugly lamp'
Guests on Antiques Roadshow are often left floored, dumbfounded, or in tears after getting their family heirlooms appraised. Such was the case with two sisters who brought their mother's prized possession for expert Arlie Sulka to have a look. Sulka immediately noted the great details of the beautiful Louis Comfort Tiffany lamp, and in the end, she left the siblings in tears with her six-figure estimate.
The sisters brought the lamp on in an episode of the PBS series filmed back in 1999. Presenting it, one of the sisters said, "My mother found this in the late 60s. There was a little neighborhood newspaper flier and she read there was a glass lamp for sale and my mother saw it, knew what it was." She further explained that the seller also knew that it was a Tiffany as it belonged to her grandfather. However, she was ready to sell the lamp at a bargain price of $125 which is when their mother knew she had to get it.
"And you took very good care of it", Sulka remarked. To this, the sisters said there were five of them in the house and their mother had to keep the lamp hidden because they were "kind of rambunctious". After taking a closer look, the expert explained that the lamp was made by Tiffany Studios, the firm that was owned by Louis Comfort Tiffany, the son of the founder of the iconic Tiffany and Company. She estimated that the item dates back to 1905 and is referred to as a "Rose Helmet" shade due to its shape.
Sulka noted that the unique petal-like design at the base of the lamp made it unique as it was a "magnificent example of a Tiffany base".
"It's called the 'arch and leaf' and if you look down closely to the base, you will see these wonderful stylized forms that follow all around the edge and are repeated in slightly different styles, moving towards the top of the base," the expert noted. She further pointed out that under the shade there was gold leading that matched the base. She explained that the base wasn't just beautiful but extremely rare as well. "I can count on one hand how many times I've seen this base, it's so unusual," she said.
Going beyond the the rare item's beauty, Sulka explained that these items were considered a "luxury" back in the day and people paid at least $200 to get their hands on one.
Before coming to the valuation, one of the sisters said that the original owner of the lamp once tried to sell it but the dealer dismissed her claim saying that it couldn't be an original Tiffany. "It's as right as rain, everything is beautiful about this lamp," Sulka said in response.
When the moment of truth arrived, Sulka told the sisters that she had some good news to share. "This lamp is worth between $80,000 and $120,000. Mom had a good eye," Sulka said. The two sisters were at a loss for words after hearing the estimate and they burst into tears saying nothing more than "Wow."
