Consigning a Tiffany Studios Lamp: What We Check Before It Goes to Auction

A real Tiffany Studios lamp can sell for five figures or more. A lamp with a Tiffany stamp on it may be worth a few hundred dollars. Here is how we tell them apart, what drives value, and how to handle your lamp before you sell it.

SebastianCharles Auctions

A real Tiffany Studios lamp can sell for five, six or even seven figures. A lamp with a Tiffany stamp on it may be worth a few hundred dollars. The difference comes down to details most owners never check. Here is what we look at before a Tiffany Studios lamp goes to auction, what drives its value, and how to handle it before you sell.A real Tiffany Studios lamp can sell for five, six or even seven figures. A lamp with a Tiffany stamp on it may be worth a few hundred dollars. The difference comes down to details most owners never check. Here is what we look at before a Tiffany Studios lamp goes to auction, what drives its value, and how to handle it before you sell.

The market for the real thing

In December 2025, Sotheby's sold a Tiffany Studios Magnolia floor lamp for $4.4 million, a record for a leaded Tiffany lamp. Christie's sold a Pond Lily table lamp for about $3.4 million in 2018. Those are museum pieces. Most Tiffany Studios lamps sell far below that, but a good table lamp still brings serious money.

At SebastianCharles, a pair of Tiffany Studios three light table lamps with L.C.T. shades sold for $11,500.

Start with the right Tiffany

Tiffany Studios was the decorative arts firm Louis Comfort Tiffany ran in New York. It operated under that name from 1902 to 1932 and made leaded glass lamps, blown Favrile glass, bronze desk sets and windows. Tiffany & Co. is the jeweler and silversmith. They are different companies with different markets. Our post on Tiffany Studios vs Tiffany & Co. covers the history.

Then there are Tiffany style lamps. Other makers copied the look during Tiffany's own lifetime, and reproductions have poured out since the 1970s. Many are attractive lamps. They are not Tiffany Studios, and the market prices them accordingly.

The marks, and why they are not enough

On a genuine leaded shade, look for a small metal tag set into the lower rim on the inside, impressed TIFFANY STUDIOS NEW YORK and often a model number. On the base, look underneath for the same impressed name and a model number. Blown Favrile shades are often etched L.C.T. or Favrile near the fitter rim.

Every one of those marks gets faked. People have soldered fake tags into shades and added stamps to bases for decades. Dealers routinely find L.C.T. signatures etched onto shades Tiffany never made. So we treat the mark as one clue among several, and then we check the rest of the lamp:

• The glass. Tiffany color sits inside the glass, mottled, streaked, rippled or flecked. Color that sits on the surface or looks painted is a red flag.
• The leading. Tiffany seams are fine, even and finished with a dark patina. Thick, lumpy or bright solder points elsewhere.
• The tag area. A tag set in solder that looks different from the leading around it suggests someone added the tag later.
• The base model. The number on the base should match a base design Tiffany actually made in that form. A number that belongs to a different model is a warning.
• The pairing. Many lamps are married, with a real shade on a base from another lamp or another maker. A married lamp is worth less than an original pairing.
• The bronze. Original patina shows even, natural wear. Stripped, polished or freshly painted bronze cuts value.

No single test settles it. The glass, the leading, the bronze and the marks have to agree.

What drives value

Pattern

Naturalistic floral and insect designs such as Wisteria, Peony, Dragonfly and Pond Lily sit at the top. Geometric leaded shades and simpler desk lamps are the entry point, and they still sell well when they are right.

Size and glass

Larger shades usually bring more. Within the same pattern, glass selection matters. Two lamps of the same model can sell far apart because one has richer, more varied glass.

Condition

Cracked or replaced glass segments, a sagging shade, missing finials and damaged bronze all lower the price. Rewiring is normal and expected. Keep the original sockets and parts if they were replaced.

Smaller Tiffany Studios pieces

You do not need a leaded lamp to have something valuable. Bronze desk sets, candlesticks, inkwells and blown Favrile vases all sell at auction. Our guide to Tiffany Favrile glass covers the blown glass side.

How to handle the lamp before you sell

• Lift the shade off before you move the lamp. Never carry or ship it assembled.
• Do not polish the bronze or clean the glass with chemicals.
• Do not restore it before you sell. Let the buyer decide what to fix.
• Keep every original part, including sockets, caps, finials and the heat cap.
• Photograph the whole lamp lit and unlit, the tag inside the shade, the underside of the base, and any cracks.
• Find any receipts, old appraisals or family history that show where the lamp came from.

How we can help

SebastianCharles Auctions offers Tiffany Studios lighting and glass to a national and international bidder base. Send photos through our free estimate form, and include the tag, the underside of the base, and a photo of the lamp lit. For more on pricing, read how much a Tiffany Studios lamp is worth or browse our art glass department.