Posted 5 years ago
kwqd
(1175 items)
The distance from the top of the glass part of the lamp to the bottom of the metal base is about 16" and the glass top diameter is 6" x glass bottom diameter 5". It appears to be molded and flashed glass. Guessing Bohemian? It has suffered during its life and I am not sure which parts are original. I am certain that the harp, harp holder and socket have been replaced so I didn't show them. It has a new shade on it. The finial is nice, solid brass and torpedo shaped but does not seem to fit the style of this lamp. There are three parts to the glass, a cap, a body and a foot, which all match. There is a divider between the body and the foot which does not seem to match the style of the base. The color of divider and base are close, so maybe they do go together? There are four washers being used as spacers on the bottom of the divider between the foot and body. Not sure if that means that a) the glass does not belong to this lamp, b) a piece of glass is missing, c) the divider doesn't belong with the glass or d) maybe the tube for the cord inside the lamp has been replaced. I think maybe option a and/or c. The pad is missing from the bottom of the lamp and it is pretty rough. The cord is older, maybe 1950s. I think that the glass is worth saving. There are some lines inside which almost look like crackling, but I think are mold errors. It would not be a restoration, just another mutation to try to make a lamp which deserves this glass. Thoughts on this? Save it or use it for target practice?
I did find something vaguely similar identified as Bohemian here:
https://www.worthpoint.com/worthopedia/vintage-bohemian-regency-ruby-red-1909405690
The cap and body seem to be identical to my lamp.
I found this in a thrift shop that I have not been to in several months but had to run an errand in the area so stopped by two or three weeks ago. The lamp did not have a price tag on it, so I asked someone and they quoted me a price of $24.99! I thanked them and passed. Today I was in the vicinity again and it was still there with no price tag, so I asked the clerk who was there today for a price and she quoted me $9.99 and I got a 25% veterans' discount so paid $8.01 for it.
First image is the restored lamp and the next three are before images.
Gorgeous lamp, the cut glass pattern is wonderful
Since you got such a good price you could put that money you “saved” toward restoration. The beautiful glass deserves better!
Doesn’t deserve the firing squad, certainly!
@Newfld - Thanks Jenni!
@Watchsearcher - The comment about executing this lamp was really tongue in cheek. The glass appears to be in perfect condition and worth saving. I suspect someone tried to make it taller by putting the divider in but did a poor job of it. Today, I am going to disassemble it and see if the body and foot mate as seamlessly as I suspect they will. I will make a nice lamp of out this and will update the images when finished.
Thanks for loving my Bohemian lamp!
Watchsearcher
Thomas
AdeleC
Broochman
Jenni
Kevin
fortapache
kwqd, I’ve come to understand that you really love beautiful glass so you wouldn’t have it in you to actually “kill” it!!
I’m confident that you will make it fabulous again! Can’t wait to see the restoration pictures!
Update: I disassembled the lamp and it was a "unique" modification by someone. The lamp was made taller by adding a divider which was made of cast metal and obviously not part of the original lamp. A "new" very rusty and corroded tube was added and plastic tubing was used around the tube to support the lamp along with five metal washers. The base appears to be original and the cord, harp, harp holder, socket, spacers and other hardware appears to be of good quality so I will reuse all of those pieces. It looks to me like the glass body and foot were meant to mate as they are a perfect fit. The glass is in great shape. I will reassemble it as a shorter lamp which is apparently the original configuration. It may be a restoration, after all... I ordered a new tube and felt pad for the bottom.
Thanks for loving my Frankenstein Bohemian lamp aura, AnythingObscure and PhilDMorris!
Update on this lamp. The parts arrived this morning so I put it together the way it was likely originally configured. The body and foot of the lamp mate to one another perfectly. Based on the similar lamp in the Worthpoint auction at the link in the description, I am not convinced that the metal base is original to this glass. The base on the other lamp is much more grand and appears to be solid brass. The glass foot does perfectly match the indentations in the current base, though. I also had some doubts about the body and foot belonging together, but the foot in the lamp in the Worthpoint auction is very different from the body. I suspect that this body was used in many configurations of these lamps. Opinions welcome!
BTW, the socket is pretty bent and the harp needs to be tweaked, but the shade hides all of this and it is probably not worth futzing with. I don't have a place to put this lamp, so it is going into storage. I may put it in my basement as I have plans to make that space more useful and comfortable. I may also just start rotating lamps in and out of use in my house. I like lamps and have quite a few in storage!
Thank you Trey!
@renedijkstra - I am using the camera on my phone and it is difficult to get the proper perspective on large items. Resolution and capturing true colors are an issue, too, as the phone camera is not very easy to use and results are not repeatable. The balance between the body and foot looks correct in person and in other images I took, but the color and resolution of the other images was not very good, so I used this image because the color and resolution was best in this image. I will put up one of the other images. I am using the new shade which came with lamp and it is much too large for the lamp, as well.
I updated the first photo with another image which much more closely approximates the correct dimensions of the restored lamp, though the resolution of the new image is not great and it does not capture the red of the flashing as well. It is just about right proportionally, however, and in keeping with the dimensions of the similar lamp in the Worthpoint auction linked in the description. I inset the original first image into the new image so readers will be able to see the shortcomings of the original image. Still not sure about whether the base is original, or not... I will keep an eye out for other versions of this lamp. Guessing it dates to the 1950s or early 1960s?
Merry Christmas Kevin and every happiness in the New Year
- Jenni
Thanks, Jenni! The same to you! I hope you have a great 2021!