The Timeless, Classic Beauty Of Antique Tiffany Lamps.During the 19th century, in the richest and most luxurious homes, you would be sure to find antique Tiffany lamps. These lamps have a sign of wealth stamped on them due to their beautiful stained glass appearance and "royal" look about them. A man named Charles Lewis Tiiffany created a business called Tiffany & Company that is still going strong to this day but is mainly known for their fine jewelry. But their antique Tiffany lamps are still a favorite to many collectors. The lamps are unique because Charles Lewis Tiffany traveled the world trying to find a way to bring the spectrum of color through glass. He brought back with him the knowledge of a process that would expose hot glass to metallic oxides and the fumes that it produced in order to create color within the glass. This technique is called iridescent glass and has been called stained glass (in layman's terms).
The real antique Tiffany lamps that had all stained glass shades were made between 1895 and 1920 and this was the end of the production. In today's age, there are many reproductions of the antique Tiffany lamps but you can always tell the difference because the lamps of today cannot seem to get away from that modern style look. They have not been able to fully reproduce the correct style that the antique Tiffany lamps had. Even though there are many reproductions of the antique Tiffany lamps, they can be almost expensive as the real thing due to the work and craftsmanship that goes into the making of the lamps. But the true antique Tiffany lamps are very expensive because of the time frame that they were made and the fact that during this time frame, they were the only lamps of their type that were made. After Charles Lewis Tiffany created his popular antique Tiffany lamps, he went on to venture into creating stained glass windows for many churches and cathedrals around the world and that is why only a certain number of the lamps were created. His works have made the antique Tiffany lamps a collectors item and a very respected material treasure. The vibrant colors of light that flow through the antique Tiffany lamps are what makes them so beautiful. The lamp shades are called "corded" stained glass because each particular stained glass piece is set together with a copper cording and is similar to a mosaic type decoration. The time and skill that it takes to create these antique Tiffany lamps is due respect all in its own. |