The most expensive lamp we can document is a Giacometti bronze chandelier of 1949, which sold at Christie’s in 2018 for £7,602,400 (about $9 million or more), and the most expensive Tiffany lamp is a Magnolia floor lamp that made $4.4 million at Sotheby’s in December 2025. This list ranks ten of the highest auction prices for lamps and chandeliers, as of October 2026.
Sources do not agree on dollar conversions for the 2018 sale, so we quote the pound figure first.
| Rank | Lamp | Price | Sale date | Sold at |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Giacometti bronze chandelier (1949) | about $9.3 million | 2018 | Christie’s |
| 2 | Magnolia floor lamp (1910) | $4.4 million | Dec 2025 | Sotheby’s, New York |
| 3 | Giacometti chandelier from John Craxton’s estate | about $3.5 million | Feb 2023 | Christie’s, London |
| 4 | Pond Lily table lamp (1903) | $3,372,500 | Dec 2018 | Christie’s, New York |
| 5 | Trumpet Creeper lamp by Tiffany | $2,295,000 | Dec 2018 | Sotheby’s, New York |
| 6 | Giacometti “Tête de femme” floor lamp | over CHF 1 million | Jun 2024 | Piguet, Geneva |
| 7 | Gallé “Les Coprins” mushroom lamp | $1.1 million | Dec 1989 | Sotheby’s, New York |
| 8 | Poppy lamp by Tiffany | $541,200 | Undated | Morphy’s |
| 9 | Giacometti Etoile table lamps (pair) | $225,000 | Dec 2017 | Bonhams |
| 10 | Giacometti floor lamp | $162,500 | Dec 2017 | Bonhams |
1. Giacometti bronze chandelier (1949): about $9.3 million
The highest price we found for any light fitting. A bronze chandelier of 1949 by Alberto Giacometti, with one of his stick figures in it, sold at Christie’s in 2018 for £7,602,400. Dollar conversions differ by source, from about $9 million to $10.4 million, so use the pound figure when you cite it.
We took the pound result with fees and an approximate dollar conversion, which sources report differently.
2. Magnolia floor lamp (1910): $4.4 million
It was owned by garden designer Samuel Browne Parsons Jr., whose family ran a nursery in Flushing. Steve Jobs famously kept a Magnolia lamp as the main furniture in his sparse living room, and the connection lit up the news cycle. Sotheby’s said that a pristine example had not been on the market for two decades, which hints that this could be the Magnolia that Christie’s sold in 2005 for $2.03 million, though we could not confirm that.
The price is the Sotheby’s result including fees.
3. Giacometti chandelier from John Craxton’s estate: about $3.5 million
The painter John Craxton bought this chandelier for £250 from a Marylebone antiques shop in the 1960s. It had been commissioned for the offices of Horizon magazine. The Fondation Giacometti confirmed it as a Giacometti in 2021. On 28 February 2023 it sold at Christie’s for £2.92 million with fees (about £2.4 million hammer), against an estimate of £1.5 million to £2.5 million. An export bar was later placed on it to give a UK institution time to raise the money.
The base is the fee-inclusive pound result and a conversion to about $3.5 million.
4. Pond Lily table lamp (1903): $3,372,500
Christie’s sold it on 13 December 2018 for $3,372,500 with buyer’s premium, a world record for Tiffany Studios at the time. It stood at the top of the list of 12 Tiffany lamps that have sold for over $1 million until the Magnolia passed it in 2025.
The number is the Christie’s price with buyer’s premium.
5. Trumpet Creeper lamp by Tiffany: $2,295,000
Sold at Sotheby’s the day before the Pond Lily, on 12 December 2018, for $2,295,000. The two houses held their Tiffany sales on consecutive days, so collectors had one expensive week.
Sotheby’s result with fees is the basis.
6. Giacometti “Tête de femme” floor lamp: over CHF 1 million
A floor lamp with a narrow base and elongated shaft, made between 1933 and 1939, earlier and rarer than the later casts. It sold at a Piguet sale in Geneva in June 2024 for more than a million Swiss francs, about five times its estimate, and set a world record for this model. The exact price was not published in the report we saw, and the date is inferred from the report.
The report gives only a floor of CHF 1 million, so no exact figure is claimed.
7. Gallé “Les Coprins” mushroom lamp: $1.1 million
Emile Gallé’s mushroom lamp is among the finest pieces of Art Nouveau glass. An anonymous buyer paid $1.1 million for it on 2 December 1989, which a 1993 report called a world record that still stood. We found no later sale to beat it, but we could not rule one out.
This rests on a 1993 report and we found nothing newer.
8. Poppy lamp by Tiffany: $541,200
Morphy’s reported $541,200 with buyer’s premium and believed it a world record for the Poppy model. The report we saw did not give a date.
We took the price and record claim from the auction house report.
9. Giacometti Etoile table lamps (pair): $225,000
A pair of Giacometti Etoile table lamps made $225,000 at Bonhams in December 2017. That sale also included a single floor lamp, which brought $162,500.
This follows the Bonhams result as reported.
10. Giacometti floor lamp: $162,500
The cheapest entry on this list. It sold in the same Bonhams sale as the Etoile pair above.
Bonhams’ reported result is the basis.
Records set in 2025 and 2026
- December 2025: the Tiffany Magnolia floor lamp at $4.4 million, the record for a Tiffany leaded lamp.
- February 2026: a regional sale of Tiffany Studios lighting reached $4.6 million overall, above its high estimate, though no single lamp record is claimed.
What drives these prices
Lamps sell for sculpture prices when a name is attached. Our read of the ten results:
- Designer names. Giacometti and Tiffany lamps are sold as sculpture and glass art, not lighting.
- Pristine condition. Original shades with no repairs make the biggest difference.
- Provenance. A first owner such as Craxton or a famous fan such as Jobs adds a story.
- Rare models. Only 12 Tiffany lamps have passed $1 million, so the supply of top models is thin.
- Scheduled sales. Houses build dedicated sales around lamps in December, which concentrates bidders in one room.
- Fixtures versus art. The Giacometti pieces are bronze sculpture that happens to carry a bulb, which explains why they outsell the glass.
FAQ
What is the most expensive lamp ever sold?
The highest price we found is £7,602,400 (about $9 million) for a 1949 Alberto Giacometti bronze chandelier at Christie’s in 2018. The record for a Tiffany lamp is $4.4 million, set in December 2025.
What is the most expensive Tiffany lamp?
A Magnolia floor lamp of circa 1910 that made $4.4 million at Sotheby’s New York on 11 December 2025. It beat the $3.37 million Pond Lily of 2018.
Why are Tiffany lamps so expensive?
Tiffany Studios made them by hand in leaded glass and bronze around 1900 to 1915, and top models in good condition are rare. Only 12 have sold above $1 million.
How did a chandelier bought for £250 become worth millions?
John Craxton bought it from an antiques shop. After the Fondation Giacometti confirmed it, it sold at Christie’s London in February 2023 for £2.92 million.
Did Steve Jobs really own a Tiffany lamp?
Reports say a young Jobs kept a Tiffany Magnolia lamp in his sparsely furnished home. Our record lamp is a Magnolia, though no source says it was his.
Where can I buy a Tiffany lamp for less?
Auction houses sell table lamps from tens of thousands of dollars. Reproductions are common, so buy with expert authentication.
How we put this list together
We ranked by verified auction price, using auction results and auction house reports compiled in an internal valuation model. Prices are approximate and change over time, and a few results come from reports that omit exact dates.
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Last updated: October 2026.
