Topic: German Buddha Lamps

[Ohio]

Hi. Thought I would check to see if these German Buddha lamps were ever finally attributed. I figured it never hurts to ask just in case any new info has surfaced. Thanks for taking a look. Ken

[deco.queen]

Nice lamps!  Are you sure that's a Buddha?  I don't see a belly.  It looks more like a Geisha to me. IMHO.

[Ohio]

I know it's difficult to tell by the photo, but the figure is buddhist. The symbolistic markings on the base represent those used in Buddhism and Jainism.

[Frank]

There are fat and thin Buddahs depending on country, I think this is the Japanese one.

[Mosquito]

Figure may be Guan Yin (Kwan Yin). East asian in style.

[Ohio]

Should have added that the figures are marked GERMANY in 1/25" (I'm estimatimg the height of the lettering) raised block letters on the bottom rear in a tiny indented block. Last time I checked a couple of years these had not been attributed & was checking to see if there had been any change. I do not believe they are Walther or Mueller so I'm at a loss. Ken

[Frank]

What is the shape of the block? A picture would be best as there are likely to be a lot of variations in the lettering with generic marks.

[Ohio]

Frank, unfortunately thats not possible without disassembling the lamps. They were both in pieces when I bought them 10 years ago when the anchoring screws attached to metal collar at the base of the figurines were snapped off. I had to tap out the old screws & replace them with screws I cut to length...a project which took hours. The GERMANY is in the same block letters as I've typed & are in a small rectangle recessed into the rear of the last fold of the figure's robe. Doesn't help I know, but thats all I have. Reassembling these back into the base collars & soldered tabs was one whale of a job I may not undertaken if I would have realized the time involved.  Ken

[Frank]

Hartmann seems to have skipped Germany marks, though he does include some for other countries. So it is back to hunting a match. While I have some German lighting catalogues I don't recall seeing this design. Cannot reach them at present.

It is of course possible that the lamp was made in another country and the makers just commissioned the glass - that usually means no makers mark on the glass.

[Ohio]

Thanks Frank for teying, I appreciate the effort. I've been afraid that the figures were simply imported in the U.S. in the late 20's to early 30's & assembled here which means it's impossible to tell who/whom manufactured them. Reliable, valid lamp manufacturers documentation is not one of our strong points over here in the U.S. The base is very similar to those bases found on some Cambridge figural lamp bases, the one & two bun Geishas & the seated Buddha & these were sold as lamp parts to various companies that were never documented & then again Cambridge may have purchased the bases from a supplier, thats always been up in the air as to which is which.  U.S./Tiffin figural lamps are well documented as well as Frankart, NuArt & Aladdin, but thats about it for the mid 20's to mid 30's time frame. I think I'm still chasing my tail & will probably never be able to attribute them.  Ken