ANTIQUES Roadshow sisters broke down in tears as they heard how much their late mum’s gift was worth.
The women brought their lamp for a valuation on the PBS series in Tampa in 1999, where expert Arlie Sulka took a close look at the item.
Explaining its history one of the women said: “My mother found this in the late 60s. There was a little neighbourhood newspaper flier and she read there was a glass lamp for sale and my mother saw it, knew what it was.”
Her sister added: “And the woman, she also knew what it was. It had belonged to her grandfather and she had moved into a very small studio apartment and it was just too large.”
The sisters added that their mum had bought the lamp for $125.
Sulka then revealed the lamp was made by Tiffany Studios, the firm that was owned by Louis Comfort Tiffany, the son of the founder of Tiffany and Company.
As a result of its shape, it is known as a “Rose Helmet” shade and dates back to 1905.
Sulka was even more impressed by the lamp’s base.
She commented: “It rests on this absolutely 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 stylised forms that follow all around the edge and are repeated in slightly different styles, moving towards the top of the base.
“Over here, the base and the shade can get separated and what’s very interesting about this base is that I believe this has stayed together all these years.
“If you notice under the shade, this is gold leading and the gold leading matches the gold on the base.
The expert dubbed the base ‘really unusual’ and explained how unique it was.
Sulka explained that these lamps were considered luxurious and were typically owned by New York’s elite, costing them at least $200.
When it came to revealing how much it’s worth, Sulka said: “So let’s give you the good news: this lamp is worth between $80,000 and $120,000. Mum had a good eye.”
The sisters were gobsmacked and instantly burst into tears after hearing the valuation.
They both said: “Wow.”
Sulka added: “Congratulations. I have to give you guys a hug,” before going around the table to hug the overwhelmed sisters.”
