41" Vintage Kwan Yin Chalkware lamp

I could not leave this at the thrift ($24.99). (And have 7 day return if needed.) Just never seen similar! Bakelite era plug, lamp maybe 1950s plus or minus?

A few questions. The pock marks on the entire lamp appear to be original because the paint looks original and seems to fill in those spaces. Thoughts? Possible it was taken from an antique mold or something??

All of the hardware seems older, noticed the prongs on the plug read: Dominican Republic. Would that just be for the plug or is that a clue to age of some kind. I've been obsessed with vintage lamps forever, sold many, still have several in my house, but have never seen a Kwan Yin one.

Nothing under the base, just open. Base section is metal.

No shipping this one, I was going to try on CL.

Has anyone ever seen similar? There are a few on Ebay (asking over $1K, unsold, might be better, but none like this) mine is quite tall, the figure alone 27" but base to top of finial is 41". @verybrad have you ever run across one of these? I'd happily sell this for $80-100.








What do you think about the pock marks? Original... or?






Came with this shade, obviously not original.

 

Shame the original shade is missing. Replacement does it no favors.

Debora

 

Agree. But maybe helpful for sizing of what would or wouldn't work. Can't imagine what the original would have looked like -- this is such an unusual lamp. A lot of the old chalkware lamps have these elaborate shades, I can't see one of those on her either. You need sort of a smaller shade so you aren't covering the face.

Of all the varieties of vintage Kwan Yin chalkware lamps on Google, not one I saw had an original shade.

I could see this lamp in an opium den or similar...

 

That's odd. I did a Google Images search and quite a few came up. These are a bit more refined than your lamp but... You can see that small drums seem to work well or pagoda-shaped.

Debora

 

No doubt more refined with an asking price of $3,600 for the Frederick Cooper pair, lol. I agree, above shapes would work well. Those examples may not have the original shades though.

 

Okay, I was looking more at Ebay and maybe less common to sell with a shade. Here is a sold pair -- chalkware lamps were kind of low end when new, and this seller claims they are the original shades and I can believe it. I actually like the ones you picked better. These lamps are 10 inches shorter than the one from I got at the thrift. A small challenge might be the long skinny nature of mine at 41 inches. Well let's hope some CL person wants it at $80-100.

Still curious to confirm the age of mine. I still haven't found the exact chalkware version online. Thanks!

 

No, of course, they may not be original shades. But they are directional examples of what type of contemporary shades could show your lamps to advantage. IMHO, those above may be original but they cheapen the lamps and scream 1960s suburban taste.

Debora

 

I totally agree! But for that reason maybe not so bad to sell without the original shade, lol.

 

Have seen similar, if not exact. Think probably from the 50s. Plug is a replacement type from the 60s. The pock marks may be due to making a mold from an old limestone original example of the statue. They are typical of weathered limestone.

 

very cool lamp Lucille!! I love the pock marked finish, just adds to it for me

I would sell without the shade. I imagine if selling with a shade it would have to be in a separate box, so if no shade it will save the buyer money on shipping that they can then use to purchase a shade they love