Tiffany Style And Stained Glass Lamps Are Collectible

By: Mike O Brien

Considered one of the great contributions to the Art Nouveau
movement, stained glass lamps have remained very popular. With a
characteristic stained glass shade, Tiffany lamps became the
standard for these beautiful light fixtures. Taking full
advantage of the widening availability electricity, stained
glass lamps are a great example of form following function.

Following the success of the original Tiffany designs, many
other styles of stained glass lamps were produced. Though the
term Tiffany is often used to describe stained glass lamps,
there is only one Tiffany. The concept of a table lamp was not
new in the late eighteen hundreds. Oil and gas table lamps had
been in wide use by the time Thomas Edison and other inventors
began marketing electric light bulbs.

The first Tiffany lamps appeared at the turn of the twenty
century. Each lamp was made by hand and reflected the work of
the individual artist. The base of the lamp was typically made
of brass or bronze. It should be pointed out that several copies
of a particular design were made but the lamps were never mass
produced. Even though several copies of a pattern were produced,
each lamp shade has a one of a kind feel imparted by the
individual artist. Louis Tiffany gained experience in working
with glass as a maker of stained glass windows. Working with
pieces of scrap, he began to design lamp shades. He utilized
standard methods of production that were used in creating
stained glass windows.

Leaded stained glass is typically made from cut pieces of
colored glass. A pattern would be drawn and cut then used to
score and cut the individual pieces of the glass puzzle. The
edges of each piece of glass would be covered in copper metal
foil than soldered together. In the days of Louis Tiffany and
until recently, lead based solders were used, hence the basis
for the term leaded glass. Lead has been removed from most
solders since lead is now considered a hazardous material. Once
the soldering is completed, the joints would be cleaned and
given a treatment. The treatment would involve applying a patina
to the solder.

Tiffany lamps are characterized by several distinctive patterns.
Some tiffany designs were based in the use of geometric shapes
ranging from squares and rectangles to triangles and ovals.
Tiffany also created beautiful floral patterns in a variety of
shapes. Florals were often combined with some type of geometric
pattern.

Cone shaped lamp shades are more difficult to produce. The
pieces of glass were generally smaller than the glass used to
make geometric shapes. The difficult task of creating a cone
shape shade makes this class of Tiffany lamp more expensive and
highly collectible. Not all of the shades produced by Tiffany
featured a flat edge. The irregular patterns often came in a
globe shape with edges that were irregularly shaped. The
patterns were less geometric and more free flowing in design.

Regardless of which pattern it is, a genuine Tiffany lamp can
fetch quite a high price. The highest price ever paid for a
Tiffany lamp at auction is reported to be over eight million
dollars.

For those of us who can not afford the high price of genuine
Tiffany, there are some reasonable alternatives. There are lamp
makers who offer reproductions of Tiffany patterns for a
fraction of the cost you might expect to pay for the genuine
article. There are some very high quality reproductions and
original designs done in the Tiffany style by modern artists. It
is common to see glass mosaic designs on some of the lamp bases.

If you fancy the idea of owning a genuine Tiffany lamp, it pays
to do your homework. As with any type of collectible, there are
many fakes and knockoffs of the genuine article. There are
Tiffany knockoffs are very well made and will certainly fool an
untrained buyer. Be certain to educate yourself about the unique
qualities of genuine Tiffany before you commit to a purchase.

Article Source: http://collectibles-articles.com

Mike O'Brien is a staff writer for the quality online store FineWebStores.com. Shop for Stained Glass Lmaps for your home. Please visit FineWebStores.com today.

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