History of Tiffany Lamps

For as long as they've been around, Tiffany lamps have been highly collectible pieces of art that made a real difference in any living space. Louis Comfort Tiffany himself had the goal of providing quality art for American homes, and over the course of his life he was an interior designer, collector, and painter, as well as participating in a number of other fields. We now recognize him as one of the most influential designers of his time, and his lamps have always been known for incredible levels of quality in design and construction.

 

During the 1870s, Tiffany concentrated on watercolor and oil painting, only turning his attention to interior design in the 1880s. It was there he stayed for the remainder of his life, attempting to bring the status of the decorative arts up to the same level as that of the fine arts. The goal was to make beauty popular.

 

One of Tiffany's best ideas was that of arranging discarded glass from window production into attractive lamps. He partnered with Thomas Edison to create quality electrical fixtures that were small versions of these beautiful stained glass windows. The stained glass Tiffany lamp became its own art form.

 

Tiffany was always on the lookout for new techniques, and is known for having developed unique new glass processes that allowed for brighter and bolder colors, as well as opalescence and new texture effects. Four new types of glass were patented by Tiffany over a twenty year period, and he worked closely with his craftsmen to make windows, lamp bases and lamps. All Tiffany lamps were designed either by Louis Comfort Tiffany himself, or by artists who worked under his supervision.

 

Most Tiffany lamps were made with sculpted bronze bases, and the shades were carefully fitted cut glass shapes held by copper foil. This light but strong material allowed for creating complex shades in large sizes. Each lamp and shade had its own model number to make it possible to fill orders easily. Tiffany lamps remained popular up until the 1930s and 1940s, when they fell out of fashion for being overly ornate. However, in the 1950s they became collectible objects, and some lamps have brought in over two million dollars at auction in recent years.

 

There are several main categories, into which most Tiffany lamps can be grouped. These are lamps with irregular upper or lower borders, geometric lamps, lamps that transition to flowers, lamps in the form of a flowered cone, and favrile lamps. Favrile means handcrafted, and refers to the earliest and simplest lamps, which Tiffany made with his own hands. These are primarily blown forms.