of discarded
Glass Remains
from Stained
Glass Windows
to form Beautiful
Decorative Lamps
These timeless heirloom Tiffany-styled fixtures and lamps include a range of designs from bright, flowery shades to soft, neutral contemporaries and mission style creations. Stained and art glass designs with a distinctive flair.
Without any exaggeration, Tiffany lamps have always been the real pieces of art and the outstanding addition to any living space. These two postulates made up the lifelong idea of Louis Comfort Tiffany (1848-1933) "to provide good art for American homes".
During his life Tiffany managed to be a painter, interior designer, collector, world traveler, photographer, manufacturer, and avid gardener. Today he is commonly recognized as one of America's most influential artists, designers and craftsmen of the century, while Tiffany's lamps were and still are known worldwide for their superior design and handcrafted details.
Being the elder son of Charles Lewis Tiffany, the legendary founder of the silver and jewelry firm, Tiffany and Co., Louis though chose to pursue his love of art instead of continuing the family tradition. He quite succeeded with his oil and watercolor works during 1860s and 1870s. However, it was in the 1880s, that he turned his attention to interior design, where he stayed till the last day of his life.
As mentioned before, Tiffany wanted to bring decorative arts to the same status as fine arts, thus popularizing overwhelming beauty. Tiffany came up with an idea to arrange bits and pieces of discarded glass remains from production of his stained glass windows to form beautiful decorative lamps.
By chance, while lighting the first movie theater, Tiffany collaborated with Thomas Edison, who further suggested making electric fixtures together. Very soon Tiffany began to create lamps, making them as small versions of his exquisite stained-glass windows, practically developing the idea into a new form of art (Duncan A., 1992). He would always look for some new techniques, and we know Tiffany to have developed a unique process of formulating glass that allowed creating bolder colors, opalescent sheens and a broader range of textures for artisans. This resulted in his patenting four new types of exclusive glass over a 20-years period, and he kept working with teams of craftsmen to manufacture stained-glass windows, lamps and lamp bases. The lamps, as well as all other Tiffany objects were exclusively designed either by Tiffany himself or by artists working under his supervision. Most commonly the bases of the lamps were made in the form of fine sculptures using bronze. Shades were created by thorough fitting hundreds of hand cut glass shapes into copper foil enclosures. As copper foil is light and simultaneously strong, it was made possible to create the shades of large size and uniquely complex design. Every lamp and shade was assigned with a model number to facilitate the filling of orders (Koch, R.1982).
Louis Comfort Tiffany was a designer of extraordinary range and versatility. His unique vision for stained glass secured his widespread popularity a hundred years ago and his continued celebrity today. To finish the short digression into the history of the Tiffany lamps origin, notice that the 1930s and 1940s are considered a recession period of Tiffany style popularity, due to its being "too ornate" for the emerging modern fashion standards of Art Moderne and Expressionism. Having lost their popular appeal, Tiffany objects, though, were rediscovered with great interest by collectors and museums in 1950s.
Finally, in 1998, two Tiffany lamps made the Top10 list of US auction prices for decorative arts bringing in nearly $2 million each. Today, one has an overwhelming choice of these wonderful artworks. If you don't want your ceiling lights to be a dull routine, Tiffany ceiling fixtures will grace the top of your room with unique jewels. There is a wide selection of admirable buffet lamps, starting with orange dragonflies with red jewel eyes on the sea blue background; continuing through the mixture of red, lavender, and white flowers hidden in the thickness of green leaves; and finishing with some mission style lamps with accents of orange, green, and beige (Neustadt E., 1970).
As to the types of Tiffany lamps, the unusual Honey Locust sconces will decorate your walls, matching the breathtaking same style floor and table lamps in your living room. Finally the Honey Locust dripping down from above in the form of a large six-light chandelier will definitely fascinate your most gourmet guests. The striking abundance of styles will probably confuse anyone willing to own this piece of art. ('Brief History of the Tiffany Lamp' by Richard Gazzo)
Austin's Antiques carries a wide selection of Tiffany Style Lamps and will help you select or order your favorite one. These timeless heirloom Tiffany-styled fixtures and lamps include a range of designs from bright, flowery shades to soft, neutral contemporaries and mission style creations,stained and art glass designs with a distinctive flair.
