Questions? Contact us at: lorena@shadesoftiffany.biz or call 415-345-8529.
May 2017 Newsletter
Featured Item: Rose Helmet Lamp Article: Mom's Rare Find Pays Off Big-Time
Original Artwork by Cal Haves
Mother posing in her rose hat.
Mother’s Day Greetings!
Here’s a shout-out to all the moms in our lives and all who love us with a mother’s heart - HAPPY MOTHER’S DAY!
Ever hear about someone's relative who put away in safe-keeping a "little ol'e something" for the family's future and years later it appraised at a fortune? Read about a mom who did just that in the Article section.
This month's featured item is our replica of Tiffany Studios’ Rose Helmet Lamp which is also the subject of this month's newsletter. Our version is a beautiful comparison to the original. We also present the shade as a decorative hanging lamp. See it in the Featured Item section.
Enjoy our May Newsletter,
Lorena
Featured Item
Note: Each item presented is a one-of-a-kind work of art available for purchase. Should any item sell, there are no duplicates. Contact us about any similar items.
Ruby Red Rosebush shade
The Rosebush Shade
Back in the late 1960s when we young stained glass artists were learning our craft, Louis Comfort Tiffany was not readily known nor his lamps liked. The Rose Helmet lamp is an example of a rare
Tiffany lamp that could be purchased at the time for a few thousand dollars. Today it appraises in the hundreds of thousands of dollars. Who knew then to invest in the real thing? We artists didn't have a few thousand, anyway.
The Rosebush, (Helmet) shade has been one of our top standards
over the years. We have created it in all sorts of dynamic color combinations. Besides being a table lamp this shade has been a customer favorite as a reverse hanging pendant or flush ceiling fixture.
The Rosebush shade we present today is beautifully done in hand rolled glass of streaked red roses, yellow/green leaves, pale spumoni background glass and deep purple stems and borders. Click here for details.
Article
The Rose Helmet Lamp
Ruby Red Rose Helmet Lamp
by Shades of Tiffany.
Tiffany Studio's Rose Helmet lamp combines a helmet-shaped shade decorated with a rose bush motif set upon a large leaf base. Designed in 1905, this lamp exemplifies the new bizarre designs emerging during that time causing a stir to Victorian sensibilities.
The highly imaginative Art Nouveau style base is named the Arc and Leaf base and as one of the best examples of Tiffany Studios organic themed bases is reputedly the most expensive one. It symbolizes the growth of a tree with large root leaves pointed upward embossed around its circumference. Each leaf is framed within interconnecting arches that become smaller as they travel upward emphasising the cone shape of the base.
A complete Rose Helmet lamp with Arc and Leaf base finished in a golden bronze patina rather than the usual verde green color, both signed, is a rare find and quite valuable. One such existing lamp has been appraised recently at $350,000!
The Rose Helmet (Rosebush) Shade as a Reverse Hanging Light Fixture
Flame Pink Rosebush
Purple Orange Rosebush
Although probably the most beloved and representational flower of the Victorian/Edwardian eras the rose pattern was only occasionally constructed at the Tiffany Studios. Tiffany lamp patterns mostly depicted Japanese motifs which were newly introduced to the West such as the wisteria, poppies, peonies and other exotic flora.
The shape of the Rosebush shade is unique. The shade gently curves outward at its border, resembling a helmet, inspiring the Tiffany Studio’s name: the Rose Helmet shade. The pattern depicts a full bush of blooming roses and buds which are designed to look real with three-dimensional overlapping of petals and leaves. The background, done in mottled glass, adds dramatic energy to the overall composition. The thick top and bottom borders adeptly contain this free-style design within the shade’s form.
Because the Rosebush shade when viewed from upside down as a hanging pendent makes a highly decorative light fixture, Shades of Tiffany has created
many beautiful reproductions of this Tiffany pattern for its customers over the years. Here are a few examples.
Golden Mauve Rosebush
Yellow Green Rosebush
Rare Inheritance Thanks to Mom's Smart Purchase
Thank You, Mom!
Read all about it in the newspapers, as seen on TV, YouTube and various media. One of those now and then stories you wished happened to you. The incident caused quite a sensation a few years back about a mom's shrewd hunch regarding a "Tiffany" lamp advertised for sale that she acted upon and purchased for practically pennies. Turns out it was the real thing and actually rare. It was Tiffany's Rose Helmet lamp, subject of this newsletter. Today her kids are rich and everyone is happy thanks to a caring mom.