eBay: Shell Lamps

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Vintage-1950s-Pair-Tiki-Shell-Chandeliers-Almost-Hollywood-Regency-/200910012366?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item2ec72b7fce

[ Edited by: kohalacharms 2013-03-29 10:51 ]

$475.00 each and they need repairs.
Cool design.

There would have to be some documentation or proof of their age and history to be worth $475 for the pair....$900? That's just making up prices and hoping for a big fish! :(

Hey, why not?

I mean, with an ironclad provenance like...

"I BELIEVE these came from A 1950's Hawaiian restaurant"

... I'm sure they're worth ten times the asking price. :roll:

Reminds me of a lamp I have:

...here are the ones in the auction posted above:

That dangling resin inlay looks to be the same as seen in these Orchids of Hawaii lights Psycho Tiki D was (is?) selling:

...but yeah, waaay too pricey for those shell lamps.

-Trad'r Bill

On 2013-03-31 13:11, Brudda Bear wrote:

Hey, why not?

I mean, with an ironclad provenance like...

"I BELIEVE these came from A 1950's Hawaiian restaurant"

... I'm sure they're worth ten times the asking price. :roll:

IS there a 'rule of thumb' on what percentage points 'provenance'
figures into selling /asking price?
would you say,
price times 1.5;
price times 2;
other?

Ah. This isn't a listing from our friend, kohalacharms, it seems to be an antique dealer whose prices are a bit high overall.

Beautiful lamps though.

Looks like this did not sell yet.
Would not be bad if not for the fact that there is damages.

"IS there a IS there a 'rule of thumb' on what percentage points 'provenance'
figures into selling /asking price?
would you say,
price times 1.5;
'rule of thumb' 2;
other?

"Pets are welcome,Children 'MUST' be on leash" TD

For me provenance does matter a little.
As far as how much that is in dollars would depend mostly on how cool it
is, and or how bad I want it.
Also how many were made, how old is it?
Like the pelican from the roof of the Kahiki would be worth a lot because
not only is it Kahiki but also the fact that there is only one.

So I guess the 'rule of thumb' would be....
price times desire really.

Provenance matters to price but the factor is very much dependent upon where the object is from or from whom it came. One can imagine a lamp or bit from the original Trader Vic's is going to have more "wow" factor and price bump than one from Fred's House of Chinese Grub.

I don't think one can even give a reasonable range, as if you happened to love Fred's House of Chinese Grub when you were 10, you might just pay five times the price someone else would because that place was meaningful to you, if not to someone else.

GK

What probably doesn't help either is that I think Oceanic Arts still sells the lamps (as well as anything else they have ever made) so there probably isn't a date stamp to be found and you could probably pick up a brand new one for less.

See now age does matter.
The old stuff has an old patina that to
me looks better.
That's why when I can I use old found stuff to make
lights out of.

Age only improves the value dramatically if the vintage version is no longer in production though. I am trying to think of an example of a product that has been continuously produced and is still exactly the same (design, materials, etc) and has a significant difference in price between a vintage and modern version.

A uke gets better with age as the wood changes with age.
Guns shoot better as more bullets pass through the barrel.
And in this case the shells in an old lamp don't have that pristine
white look that says "I was made a few days ago".
The tapa can also look like it's too new, same with the bamboo.

Have been to some new tiki bars that just look too new, for me they need
that lived in look.
Not many people can replicate that old time look well.
For me that makes all the difference, This is why I don't get too
worked up over new tiki bars.
Would rather just go to some other old restaurant.

But in the case of the instruments and firearms, they can gain value from being old and the knowledge of their production run.

An old, broken (in this case), lamp covered in 50 years of food grease and cigarette smoke residue (which may be what the patina of the older lamps is comprised of) probably has not appreciated in value.

"lamp covered in 50 years of food grease and cigarette smoke residue"
I just got a boner.

The ones I got from Kahiki had a definite peanut oil smell to them.
But then this is just my preference, others may not agree.
Eye of the beholder and all that.

[ Edited by: tikiskip 2013-07-25 16:35 ]

hate to butt in here but...

THE STINKY, SMOKEY, GREASY SMELL AND AGE IS WHAT MAKES THEM GREAT!

Well if you need the smell of rancid oil you probably could just rub a little cooking oil into it and keep it in a warm, bright environment. Probably could just use a plastic bag and a pack of smokes to get a nice tar/old lady residue on it as well.