This is the 12 inch Variegated Tan vase lamp, also know as the "Duo Tan" vase lamp. The inside of a clear glass vase is first painted with a tan paint, then fired to cure it. After the process was complete, and the lamp had cooled down, the variegated finish along with the gold band around the bottom were hand applied. The finish consists of a combination of colors applied to the outside of the vase, similiar to a flat paint and what more recently has become known as a "faux painting". The result was to give the vase a more dull finish with each lamp being a one of a kind paint scheme.
While this is lamp is also a 12 inch Variegated Tan vase lamp you can easily see there is quite a difference in the two. The link to both is simply the fact that the inner fired on paint is tan, and they both have the gold band at the base. The variegated paint, however, is drastically different between the two lamps. The strange thing is that I have seen several of both paint schemes. Enough so that I'm not sure they should share the same designation. One lamp has a rather distinct dominant green color, the other a more dominant black and brown color.
I could understand this as just being the difference of the hand applied paint, but like I said, I have seen several examples of each color combination. After seeing enough of these variegated tan lamps it starts to become obvious that there were two distinct paint schemes used on them. Each consisted of its own dominant color scheme. One more green in color, the other more brown and black. If you try, you would probably be able to find examples matching both of the lamps above. Remember, however, the link is that both share the tan paint on the inside of the vase.
If you are wondering how a lamp as ugly as this one could ever be popular with buyers, just remember it was one of the first colorful glass lamps manufactured by the Aladdin Mantle Lamp Company in 1930. Prior to that date the lamps were all metal. Plus, beauty of course is in the eye of the beholder.
