West German Lamp

Hi,
I’m in love with this lamp. I bought it from a dealer on Etsy, and it broke into 30 pieces during transit from the Netherlands. Can anyone ID it? It will cost around $500 for an invisible repair. Do you think it’s worth it?
Thank you.
Alison

Without a mark it'll be difficult to ID. Even if it's IDed then it's unlikely to be worth anything like $500 - most German pieces from this era are in the £10-£100 range - so I wouldn't waste money having it repaired. Keep the cash to spend on other pieces.

I would agree with Naomi. 1n pure monetary terms it has to be something at least reasonably special to be worth $500. Moreover, even it it was perfectly restored it would be still worth a good deal less than its original value. Collectors do not like restoration, not at all!

I thought this might be considered a special piece. I’ve been looking through images of West German pottery lamps, and I haven’t seen anything with a similar vibe. I think it’s the combo of the yoni-like shape, the earthy coloring, and the inside illumination that get me. The cut-outs are interesting, maybe unique—they’re like little bow ties. I’ll include another photo. Also, I was looking at 1stdibs.com, and West German pieces are priced very high on that site.
Thanks for your advice, by the way. Antique pottery is completely new territory for me.
Alison

Knock a 0 off the prices you see on 1stdibs. Dealers use it to fleece buyers by uploading items on there at extortionate prices and then offering discounts to buyers who come into their shops and show them what the item is “worth” on that website, so the buyer thinks they’re getting a bargain. I know; I’ve been told that by dealers who use that site.

The piece is unmarked. It might not even be German, although chances are it’s East German since their manufacturers where far less likely to stamp or otherwise mark their pots, and just relied on a label or retailers put on their own labels.

If 'antique' pottery is new to you, then be very careful in the 'value' of anything in the field. Very generally there is only any residual resale value in very specialist areas. For a broad stroke idea of value, look at sold pieces on Ebay, and even then with a querying stance!
Post World War 2 West/East German pottery for instance., which this is. Its not antique, it was produced in very substantial quantities by numerous factories for decades in the 50's, 60's and 70's. A large amount of it went for export, and you find it all over the place. Generally its prices should not be high, as there is so much of it around. Collectors tend to collect it in very specific areas of it. Colour, shapes, small production, small factories etc.

Thanks very much for the tips. I think I’ll keep looking for another vintage (not antique) lamp.