“Did you see the goldfish lamps,” my auction buddy Janet asked me as we stood among the furniture at one of my favorite auction houses. I had not. She pointed to a group of lamps on a table near the door.
As we walked toward the lamps, the ones she was referring to slowly came into view, slightly hidden behind a pair of lamps with gaudy flowers. I immediately knew why she had asked the question. The goldfish lamps were not the most attractive ones I’ve ever seen – maybe that’s why I had passed right by them. They were actually hideous, and we both wondered who’d ever buy them and then display them in their home.
But one person’s pleasure is another’s pain, and these lamps were painful. Every now and then, we come across some awful-looking items on the auction table – including lamps – and we just shake our heads in wonderment. I’m sure folks would do the same for some of the things I have in my home. But I doubt it.
The goldfish were actually more orange than gold floating there fixedly around the base of the ceramic lamp whose curvy shape apparently was intended to mimic a wave. Thin underwater plants with tiny pink flowers were hand-painted on the base, and a glass textured sheet emanated from the bottom. The auction house described them as 1950s modern ceramic table lamps, 34″ tall.
Nearby was another “why would anyone buy that” lamp. A 1950s plaster lamp, according to the auction sheet. It had deep rose flowers with a similar clear sheet set in the base.
The best-looking lamps in the arrangement were a pair of modern Haeger pottery table lamps with two nude women stradling draped fabric. The auction house gave them the name “The Veil Dance.” The sheet said that they were from the 1950s, but they had an Art Deco feel to me. They had a manufacturer’s foil label for Haeger Potteries, a century-old company whose pottery is highly collectible.
Another lamp – “green modernist,” made in the 1950s, according to the auction sheet – with a base consisting of a lone woman and a gazelle was close by. The auction house speculated that it was made by Cowan Pottery; apparently, it was not signed. The company operated from 1912 to 1931. The website tvlamps.net identified a similar TV lamp without the shade as a Haeger lamp called “Girl and Fawn.”
The goldfish lamps were not the only ones that puzzled me. Janet and I were standing in front of a tall geometric lamp with too many angles when she first mentioned the goldfish. Staring at this odd lamp apparently reminded her of the other one.
I didn’t hang around to see how much any of the lamps sold for, but I checked the prices later on the web. This was the auction house’s Modern Design sale, so it was also conducted online through liveauctioneers.com. The geometric lamp with angles was not included in the online bidding.
The Haegar lamp with two nude women sold for $170.
The lamp with the woman and gazelle, $80
The floral lamps, $150.
Those goldfish lamps? They sold for $400.
Ha,Ha, what a funny post! You’d die if you walked into my house and saw all of my odd 1950s table lamps! In fact, I have the green version of the fish lamp above that you thought was so hideous. It’s a Reglor lamp, by the way. You may not like these types of lamps, but, believe me, there are lots of us out here who avidly collect them. Happy hunting!
Funny!! When I saw the short feed of the fish lamps my first thought was Oh dear, they are hideous…I hope she didn’t buy those…so glad that I continued to read that you’re thoughts were not far from mine! I can visualize them sitting on a hostesses desk at the entrance to a chinese restaurant though, they would fit right in.