Interior Design and Home Accessories

by Wendy Tanner

Louis Comfort Tiffany is an American designer and artist who had pioneered the art of stained glass lamp making. His innovation, the stained glass lamps, came to be known worldwide as Tiffany lamps, now an unavoidable decorative piece in many homes/hotels. Tiffany’s name is also closely associated with the Art Nouveau/Aesthetic movements.

The late 1800s and early 1900s witnessed new inventions and techniques in lamp making such as the patented translucent “milky” glass known as opalescent glass – by John La Farge – and stained glass lamps or the Tiffany decorative lamps by Louis Tiffany. In a sense, his technology was not entirely novel. He just used a technology that was totally confined to window pane decoration for centuries to the making of lamp shades. But the credit is still bestowed upon Tiffany because trying to migrate window pane technology to lamp shades, with every work being hand done, was quite an effort in itself. Also, then he had to create a market for the new lamps, which none was aware of existing then.

Louis Tiffany used thin copper foils to tape individual glass pieces, which are then soldered together to form the glass pane. In the old window pane technology, but there lead was used as the substance to hold the glass pieces together. Tiffany showed that by substituting lead with copper not only makes the glass weighs less, but also copper’s malleability ensures that finer lines and hence complex designs can be weaved in more easily to the stained glass shades or big and complex window panes used in churches.

In the days of Tiffany, the lamp shades were entirely handmade. Now, with the advent of technology and automation, nearly every process that goes on behind the scene of Tiffany lamp making has become automatic, with minimal human interference. Also, copper foils and colored glass has given way to more costly and cheaper substances. In fact, the reality that there is Tiffany lamps that costs hundreds and thousands of dollars will itself give one an idea as to what all materials can go into the making of fancy Tiffany lamps, even though lamp makers prefer to keep such information one of their trade secrets.

But critics, who see Tiffany lamp making as an art, say that fusing, slumping, and bending of glass in modern electric home kilns has in fact made the job a lot easier, and it had taken away the element of expertise that was required in the early days, a reality that in fact reflects in the Tiffany lamp shades that are available today in the market. But, on the other side of the coin, this is also the reason why Tiffany glass lamp making, the vocation, has become so common these days. The availability of factory made cheap glass in abundance, and improved training techniques have also contributed to more people taking to Tiffany lamp making as a profitable vocation. It is profitable because, across the globe, in homes and offices, Tiffany lamps are still a sought after décor item.

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In our modern world, glass is an every day part of life, but this was not always so.

The elegant and ethereal medium known as “glass” is simply and basically made of sand, and or, silica and a flux; sodium or potassium.  These elements fuse together when melted at a very high temperature, resulting in the product readily recognised as glass.

Glass is an ancient invention, having been produced for the past 5000 years and particularly since the development of techniques in the 18th century.  The first glass makers were found in ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia, 5000 years ago with examples of this early glass surviving today.  At the time, it was seen as a very exotic product and study has shown that the simple techniques used were held as secret by those ancient artisans.

The first glass products were rather crude bottles and flasks, produced by moulding the basic shape from mud.  The modelled shape was held by inserting a short metal rod into one end with the shape then dipped into molten glass thus forming the “core” of the flask shape.  Long molten threads of glass, known as “canes”, were then wound around this basic shape until the flask or bottle was complete.

Before its fall, Egypt held the monopoly on glass making throughout the known world.  When the Romans invaded Egypt, they quickly adopted the glass making secrets discovered.  It was, in fact, the Romans who continued the development of glass making with the introduction of glass blowing, around the 1st century BC.  It was from this Roman development of glass making that led to the production of glass through out the Western world.

In the meantime, the Chinese had discovered glass which, in ancient China, was attributed with special properties such as the ability to keep evil spirits away.  It was also considered to have healing properties being associated with gemstones and crystals, however, prior to the 17th century, the Chinese found little use for this product.  It should be remembered that, up until the 19th century, architecture worldwide used very little glass in windows, with the Chinese favouring sheets of translucent paper.  Nor was glass required for storage purposes due to China’s highly developed and refined production of porcelain.

While China had been producing glass since about 700 BC with various small glass workshops operating throughout the country, most of these workshops with their small random outputs, were short lived.  It is also apparent that glass did not rate Imperial patronage until the late 17th century with the Kang Xi Emperor (1662-1722) establishing the first state glass factory as an Imperial workshop in 1696.  The workshop was located within the palace walls of the Forbidden City and was staffed with the best craftsmen to be found in China.  

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The beautiful Chinese glass, so well known in the West as “Peking glass”, was in fact, introduced to the Chinese by a 17th century German Jesuit missionary priest.  The missionary supervised the establishment of the Imperial workshop and brought many Western techniques of glass and enamel work to the Chinese court.  As a result, Peking glass has been correctly described as a “stepchild” in the great family of Chinese decorative arts.

Interestingly, it was the introduction of snuff, or, finely powdered tobacco, that led to the establishment of the Imperial workshop.  When Europeans first arrived in China, not only did they discover new and exciting things, but the Chinese, equally unaware of the Western world, discovered ideas new to China and snuff taking was one of them!

Due to the fast developing habit of using snuff at the Imperial court and it quickly gaining popularity in high society, glass snuff bottles were produced.  The Imperial workshop commenced production of tiny bottles specifically, for the purpose of containing snuff or powdered tobacco being for use by the Imperial family, or, given as gifts to civil and military ministers of the Imperial court and foreign diplomats.

A Chinese “Peking Glass” table lamp, the lamp of typical thick walled, heavy construction, weighing just over 4 lb / 1.8kg.  The mustard yellow lamp standing on a custom made, gilt wood base and seated in a gold plated bronze ring, the lamp fitted with a gold plated bronze cap.  Circa 1900.  Overall height (including shade) 22″/56cm

A Chinese “Peking Glass” table lamp.The glass of a rich cobalt blue and of typical Peking glass type, thick walled and a heavy base with a weight of 4.2 lb / 2 kg.

The down light of the lamp producing an effective illumination of the cobalt blue glass, (more widely known in the West as Bristol blue). The lamp fitted with a turned, gold plated bronze cap and standing on a turned Maple wood base burnished with Dutch gilding. Circa 1900       Overall height (including shade) 20”/50cm

These early productions were monochromes or, single colours in Imperial egg yolk yellow, ruby red and opaline green.  They were of simple shape, or, ”scholar’s taste”, ranging from plain to highly decorative pieces with multicolored glass overlays, the glass being either carved or faceted.  

Overlay glass was later developed.  This involved dipping a glass item into a vat of molten glass of contrasting colour.  The shape was then cooled, requiring a 3 day period after which it was decoratively carved revealing the original coloured layer of glass.  Glass carving is a lengthy and tedious process, both time consuming and labour intensive.  The final shaping and polishing is done by hand in the traditional jade-cutting process of methodical grinding and polishing.

The Peking glass lamp illustrated is a single color example and was produced by repeatedly dipping the glass shape into a vat of molten glass until the required shape was produced and finally finished and polished.

Today, Peking glass is found in many forms both functional and purely decorative.   

The Antique & Vintage Table Lamp Co specialise in antique lamps with an on-line range of over 100 unique, antique lamps.  Lamps are shipped ready wired for the US the UK and Australia.

 For more information you are invited to visit their web site at:-

 www.antiquelampshop.com

 © The Antique & Vintage Table Lamp Co 2009

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Tiny LED lights that save energy and efficient is ready to dominate the world of artificial lighting in future.

Light Emitting Diode (LED) has long been known, especially in the field of electronics. Look at the TV remote, there is a small light that lights up when you change TV channels? That’s the LED light. The resulting light coming from a small diodes beam which lights up with the help of electrical energy.

When the first LED is used for electronic devices only, now the functions are wider and have been a source of artificial lighting in buildings. The presence may not be able to replace incandescent or fluorescent. This is because the luminescence of LED lights is not yet as bright as incandescent, fluorescent, or fluorescent.

To give a stronger light, a number of LED united in bulbs. Bulb shape is varied. There is a down light bulbs type in various sizes, there are also in the form of elongated wires commonly known as strip lighting. Strip lighting usually used for decorative or indirect type lighting.

Its very efficiently nature makes LED highly energy efficient. This is caused by its character which absorbs energy and turn it into light, not heat. Compare with the halogen that produces more heat than light quantity. 70 Watt halogen lamps can be replaced by 9 Watt LED. Imagine how much savings could be made.

Not only able to save on electricity usage and reduce the heat, the LED light has wider color variation. Luminescence light that produced is more smooth and comfortable in the eye. LED light suitable for general and special lighting, down light type, indirect, or decorative.

The price of LED lights are still more expensive, but consider all the benefit and much longer lifetime compared with other types of lamps. Beside producing a better quality of light, with energy saving, you can save the environment.

How about it, interested to this environmentally friendly tiny lamp?

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