Proud Owner Plucks Tiffany’s Peacock Lamp

One-of-a-kind antiques made by famous designers often sell for high prices. A Tiffany Peacock centerpiece lamp recently sold for $1,872,500, the second-highest-priced Tiffany lamp ever auctioned. The most expensive was a Pink Lotus lamp that sold in 1997 for $2,807,500.

Louis Comfort Tiffany made his first lamps in 1894. Very few centerpiece lamps were made, and each was a special order. It is believed that the Peacock lamp was used by Tiffany at his home in New York City. The shade has five rows of rippled glass peacock feathers in shades of amber, green and blue. The metal base is set with mosaic tiles and is curved to hold six small, blue favrile glass bowls. One can only guess at the use of the bowls. They were perhaps used for flowers or nuts, or for decoration and kept empty.

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Question: I just inherited a large set of silver with four or five sizes of knives, forks and spoons. It would be fun to give a Victorian party and use them, but I don’t know where to put them when I set the table.

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Answer: The rule is to put the silver in the order they will be used. The first piece used, like the soup spoon or cocktail fork, would be on the outside of the setting. Often, either the dessert fork or the butter knife is placed horizontally above the dinner plate. Your choice of silver is determined by the food you serve.

You could have cocktail, salad, fish, cold meat, oyster, fruit, luncheon or dinner forks and steak, fish, butter, luncheon or dinner knives. Spoons can be even more puzzling because there are so many types that are no longer used. You could have grapefruit, cream soup, soup, bouillon, strawberry, chocolate, dessert, ice cream, iced tea or lemonade spoons and more.

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Q I have a Flippo the Clown rubber squeeze toy. Under his hairline are the words “Seiberling Latex Prod. Co., Made in U.S.A.” Do you know anything about the company?

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A Seiberling Latex Products Co. was founded in 1921 by Frank Augustus Seiberling (1859-1954). Earlier, he had started the Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. in Akron, Ohio.

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Q I just discovered that an old and colorful pottery vase my parents have is stamped “Nemadji Pottery.” Is it an American Indian piece?

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A The word “nemadji” is an Ojibwa Indian word that means “left hand.” But Nemadji pottery was not made by American Indians--although some retailers liked to say so. The Nemadji Tile and Pottery Co., founded by C.J. Dodge in Moose Lake, Minn., in 1923, made red and tan earthenware tile and pottery. Pots were hand-painted using a swirling technique, so no two looked alike.

The pottery closed for a time during the Depression, then reopened under new ownership in 1948. It was again sold in 1971 and was moved to Kettle River, Minn., in 1973. The company is still in business, although it no longer uses Minnesota clay.

For a listing of helpful books and publications, include a self-addressed, stamped (55 cents) envelope to Kovels, Los Angeles Times, King Features Syndicate, 235 E. 45th St., New York, NY 10017.

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Current Prices

Current prices are recorded from antique shows, flea markets, sales and auctions throughout the United States. Prices vary because of local economic conditions.

* New York Times Cookbook by Craig Claiborne, illustrated, 1961, 700-plus pages, $35.

* Advertising whiskey jug, Meredith’s Diamond Club Rye Whiskey, ironstone, blue-green, company emblem, barley springs design, serpent handle, 5 inches, $55.

* Cast-iron, mechanical potato slicer, clamp-on, Eagle Engineering Co., 1918, $75.

* Going to Jerusalem game, by Parker Bros., 1955, $100.

* Sky ranger toy, zeppelin and prop plane revolving around naval tower lighthouse, 1930s, Unique Art, $390.

* Buddy Lee doll, composition head, painted eyes to side, smiling mouth, jointed at shoulders, denim shirt, Lee bib overalls, 12 inches, $375.

* Grueby bowl, coupe-shape, footed, covered in matte green glaze, glossy interior, impressed flower mark, 3 3/4 by 4 3/4 inches, $550.

* Koken barber chair, wood and leather, embossed filigree on sides, headrest and child’s seat, 46 inches, $920.

* Moser cameo glass vase, inverted baluster form, amber, acid-cut frieze of elephants under palm tree, c. 1925, 8 inches, $1,720.

* Hepplewhite Pembroke drop-leaf table, mahogany, shaped top, ribbed edge, wooden pulls, tapered legs, brass bucket casters, 31 1/2 by 20 inches, $2,090.