I was waiting for my next item to come up for auction recently when I spied a lovely lamp sitting on the top of a case at the front of the room. The shade was striking and very unusual – nice, clean and simple in a basket-weave design.
The base was the bust of an African woman, ebony it seemed, and intricately carved. Even from where I sat I could make out the features on the face. I knew then and there that I was going to take that lamp home. It had my name on it. (You can see a full view of the lamp at the end of this post or by clicking on the photo below.)
The auction’s Modern Design Sale was coming up, and I assumed that the lamp would be a part of it. If so, I knew the price would be hefty. Lovely lamps and furniture are sold at those auctions, and they always bring out the buyers who don’t know that the economy is bad for the rest of us.
Regardless, I was going to try to get that lamp.
A week later, when I was perusing the photos on the auction house’s website, I was surprised to see the lamp on the regular tables and not among the Modern Design merchandise. Hallelujah, I thought. Now, I had a chance.
As soon as I arrived at the auction, I searched for the lamp. Up close, it was still a charm. It had a few nicks, which showed white underneath. When I knuckled-tapped the base, it sounded like ceramic or plaster. It looked like the carved ebony pieces I had at home, but apparently this was not wood.
The shade was in very good condition, but the lamp was missing its finial. No big deal; I can always pick up a finial at auction. The brass-plated base beneath the bust had some spots of tarnish and the cord looked a bit old (but not worn).
I saw two other lamps (similar to this one I found on the web) with the same basket-weave shade. Both had driftwood bases, and they were snapped up.
I waited impatiently for the auctioneer to get to “my” lamp. Apparently, one other bidder wanted it, too, but I hung in there. When the bidding was over, I got the lamp for $30.
I wondered who made it and began looking for a maker’s mark. On the back near the bottom were the letters F.A. I. P. So, I Googled, but did not find much. Most of the sites I came across kept repeating the same information, which they weren’t able to verify.
I did find some F.A.I.P. lamps for sale on the web, among them a pair of African drummer lamps. There were a TV lamp, an Arabian Nights lamp, a lamp with bullfight images (and credited to designer Frederic Weinberg), a retro lamp with flat shapes, a lamp with an astrological symbols and another with carved leaves in relief. They were described as made of ceramic, plaster and chalkware.
Meanwhile, I’ll just enjoy my lamp. Someday, maybe, I’ll find out more about the company that made it.
