Survey Of The Different Types Of Tiffany Glass

There were many different types of glass developed by Louis Comfort Tiffany at his Tiffany Studios. He is remembered primarily for his exquisite stained glass windows and stained glass lamps which are today high priced collector's items.

He may have been inspired by a visit to Europe in 1865 when he visited the Victoria and Albert Museum and admired the medieval glass and the large collection of Syrian and Roman glassware. He became convinced that the quality of the stained glass being produced could be improved tremendously.

Opening his own glass making factories and the famous Tiffany Studio he began to produce stained glass that was not painted as other contemporary glass but instead the glass itself transmitted the colours and textures. His now famous Favrile glass was born! He went on to produce the exquisite stained glass windows, lamps, jewelry and other decorative items for which he is still famous today.

Favrile Glass

Tiffany patented the name Favrile in 1880. The name itself is from a French word that means handmade and Favrile glass has an iridescent quality that gives some opacity to the glass and makes it shimmer. Favrile glass is made by mixing together coloured glass while it is molten.

Opalescent Glass

Glass with more than one colour is called opalescent glass. It was used as the basis for all Tiffany glass and is made by fusing together different coloured glasses while they are molten. Opalescent glass was used in England from around 1860 by Bayne, Butler and Heaton in studios in England and it became increasingly popular.

Ripple Glass

Ripple glass was used by Tiffany to suggest water or the veins of leaves. It has a texture that looks like surface waves and is made by spinning a sheet of glass on a roller. The roller moves forward but it spins faster so that a ripple effect is created.

The method to make ripple glass used by Tiffany was lost when the Tiffany Studios closed in 1928. It was made again i
n the 1960's at Oroboros Glass by Eric Lovell who reinvented the method.

Fracture Glass

An irregular pattern of thin glass wafers are attached to the surface of a sheet of glass in this type of Tiffany glass. It was used by Tiffany to suggest leaves and twigs seen from a distance. A bubble of molten glass is blown which is cooled then hardened. The thin walled bubble is broken into irregular shards that are fused on to molten glass.

Streamer Glass

Streamer glass has string pattern on the surface that suggest twigs, grass etc. It is made using a pontile which picks up the glass and is then swung to stretch the glass into thin strings. These are then attached by pressing onto molten glass sheets.

Ring Mottle Glass

Ring mottle glass was invented at the beginning of the twentieth century and is formed by treating area of glass by heat so that a mottle effect is produced.

Drapery glass

This type of glass is used to suggest folded fabric and was used by Tiffany to represent flowing robes and angel's wings. His famous church windows use drapery glass to stunning effect. Drapery glass is difficult to make and requires a high degree of skill. the entire sheet of molten glass is manipulated to produce the folds while a small roller is forced over the sheet to produce ripples. When the glass cools and hardens the ripples become permanent. Drapery glass is essentially handmade and a such each piece is unique.

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Submitted By ArticleUnited.com

Survey Of The Different Types Of Tiffany Glass

There were many different types of glass developed by Louis Comfort Tiffany at his Tiffany Studios. He is remembered primarily for his exquisite stained glass windows and stained glass lamps which are today high priced collector's items. (more…)

Survey Of The Different Types Of Tiffany Glass

There were many different types of glass developed by Louis Comfort Tiffany at his Tiffany Studios. He is remembered primarily for his exquisite stained glass windows and stained glass lamps which are today high priced collector's items. (more…)