Tiffany glass
Encyclopedia
Louis Comfort Tiffany
Louis Comfort Tiffany was an American artist and designer who worked in the decorative arts and is best known for his work in stained glass. He is the American artist most associated with the Art Nouveau and Aesthetic movements...
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In 1865, Tiffany traveled to Europe, and in London he visited the Victoria and Albert Museum
Victoria and Albert Museum
The Victoria and Albert Museum , set in the Brompton district of The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, London, England, is the world's largest museum of decorative arts and design, housing a permanent collection of over 4.5 million objects...
, whose extensive collection of Roman and Syrian glass made a deep impression on him. He admired the coloration of medieval glass and was convinced that the quality of contemporary glass could be improved upon. In his own words, the "Rich tones are due in part to the use of pot metal
Pot metal
Pot metal, also known as monkey metal, white metal or die-cast zinc, is a slang term that refers to alloys that consist of inexpensive, low-melting point metals used to make fast, inexpensive castings....
full of impurities, and in part to the uneven thickness of the glass, but still more because the glass maker of that day abstained from the use of paint".
Tiffany was an interior designer, and in 1878 his interest turned towards the creation of stained glass
Stained glass
The term stained glass can refer to coloured glass as a material or to works produced from it. Throughout its thousand-year history, the term has been applied almost exclusively to the windows of churches and other significant buildings...
, when he opened his own studio and glass foundry because he was unable to find the types of glass that he desired in interior decoration. His inventiveness both as a designer of windows and as a producer of the material with which to create them was to become renowned. Tiffany wanted the glass itself to transmit texture and rich colors and he developed a type of glass he called Favrile.
Scholars have determined that the glass was produced by a team led by Tiffany, but including other designers such as Clara Driscoll.
Opalescent glass
The term opalescent glass is commonly used to describe glass where more than one color is present, being fused during the manufacture, as against flashed glass in which two colors may be laminated, or silver stained glass where a solution of silver nitrate
Silver nitrate
Silver nitrate is an inorganic compound with chemical formula . This compound is a versatile precursor to many other silver compounds, such as those used in photography. It is far less sensitive to light than the halides...
is superficially applied, turning red glass to orange and blue glass to green. Some opalescent glass was used by several stained glass studios in England from the 1860s and 1870s onwards, notably Heaton, Butler and Bayne. Its use became increasingly common. Opalescent glass is the basis for the range of glasses created by Tiffany.
Favrile glass
Tiffany patentPatent
A patent is a form of intellectual property. It consists of a set of exclusive rights granted by a sovereign state to an inventor or their assignee for a limited period of time in exchange for the public disclosure of an invention....
ed Favrile glass in 1880. The trade name
Trade name
A trade name, also known as a trading name or a business name, is the name which a business trades under for commercial purposes, although its registered, legal name, used for contracts and other formal situations, may be another....
Favrile was derived from the French word, fabrile, meaning handcrafted.
Favrile glass often has a distinctive characteristic that is common in some glass from Classical antiquity: it possesses a superficial iridescence
Iridescence
Iridescence is generally known as the property of certain surfaces which appear to change color as the angle of view or the angle of illumination changes...
. This iridescence causes the surface to shimmer, but also causes a degree of opacity. This iridescent effect of the glass was obtained by mixing different colors of glass together while hot.
According to Tiffany:
"Favrile glass is distinguished by brilliant or deeply toned colors, usually iridescent like the wings of certain American butterflies, the necks of pigeons and peacocks, the wing covers of various beetles."
Streamer glass
Streamers are prepared from very hot molten glass, gathered at the end of a punty (pontil) that is rapidly swung back and forth and stretched into long, thin strings that rapidly cool and harden. These hand-stretched streamers are pressed on the molten surface of sheet glass during the rolling process, and become permanently fused.
Fracture glass
Fracture glass refers to a sheet of glass with a pattern of irregularly shaped, thin glass wafers affixed to its surface. Tiffany made use of such textured glass to represent, for example, foliage seen from a distance.The irregular glass wafers, called fractures, are prepared from very hot, colored molten glass, gathered at the end of a blowpipe. A large bubble is forcefully blown until the walls of the bubble rapidly stretch, cool and harden. The resulting glass bubble has paper-thin walls and is immediately shattered into shards. These hand blown shards are pressed on the surface of the molten glass sheet during the rolling process, to which they become permanently fused.
Fracture-streamer glass
Fracture-streamer glass refers to a sheet of glass with a pattern of glass strings, and irregularly shaped, thin glass wafers, affixed to its surface. Tiffany made use of such textured glass to represent, for example, twigs, branches and grass, and distant foliage.The process is as above except that both streamers and fractures are applied to sheet glass during the rolling process.
Ripple glass
Ripple glass refers to a sheet of textured glass with marked surface waves. Tiffany made use of such textured glass to represent, for example, water or leaf veins.The texture is created during the glass sheet-forming process. A sheet is formed from molten glass with a roller that spins on itself, while travelling forward. Normally the roller spins at the same speed as its own forward motion, and the resulting sheet has a smooth surface. In the manufacture of rippled glass, the roller spins faster than its own forward motion. The rippled effect is retained as the glass cools.
Ring mottle glass
Ring mottle glass refers to sheet glass with a pronounced mottle created by localized, heat-treated opacification and crystal-growth dynamics. Ring mottle glass was invented by Tiffany in the early 20th century. Tiffany's distinctive style exploited glass containing a variety of motifs such as those found in ring mottle glass, and he relied minimally on painted details.When Tiffany Studio closed in 1928, the secret formula for making ring mottle glass was forgotten and lost. Ring mottle glass was re-dicscovered in the late sixties by Eric Lovell of Uroboros Glass. Traditionally used for organic details on leaves and other natural elements, ring mottles also find a place in contemporary work when abstract patterns are desired.
Drapery glass
Drapery glass refers to a sheet of heavily folded glass that suggests fabric folds. Tiffany made adundant use of drapery glass in ecclesiastical stained glass windows to add a 3-dimensional effect to flowing robes and angel wings, and to imitate the natural coarseness of magnolia petals.The making of drapery glass requires skill and experience. A small diameter hand-held roller is manipulated forcefully over a sheet of molten glass to produce heavy ripples, while folding and creasing the entire sheet. The ripples become rigid and permanent as the glass cools. Each sheet produced from this artisanal process is unique.
Techniques for cutting Tiffany glass
In order to cut streamer, fracture or ripple glass, the sheet may be scored on the side without streamers, fractures or ripples with a carbide glass cutter, and broken at the score line with breaker-grozier pliersBreaker-grozier pliers
Breaker-grozier pliers are pliers used by glaziers to break and finish glass in a controlled manner. They are dual purpose pliers, with a flat jaw that's used for breaking out scores and a curved jaw that's used for grozing flares from the edge of broken glass...
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In order to cut drapery glass, the sheet may be placed on styrofoam
Styrofoam
Styrofoam is a trademark of The Dow Chemical Company for closed-cell currently made for thermal insulation and craft applications. In 1941, researchers in Dow's Chemical Physics Lab found a way to make foamed polystyrene...
, scored with a carbide glass cutter, and broken at the score line with breaker-grozier pliers, but a bandsaw or ringsaw are the preferred.
Locations and collections
Stained glass in situ- New York
- Albion – Pullman Memorial Universalist Church
- AuburnAuburn, New YorkAuburn is a city in Cayuga County, New York, United States of America. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 27,687...
– Willard ChapelWillard Memorial Chapel-Welch Memorial HallThe Willard Memorial Chapel and the adjoining Welch Memorial Hall are a National Historic Landmark designed by Andrew Jackson Warner of Rochester, New York, which feature the stained-glass windows and interior decoration of Louis Comfort Tiffany... - BrooklynBrooklynBrooklyn is the most populous of New York City's five boroughs, with nearly 2.6 million residents, and the second-largest in area. Since 1896, Brooklyn has had the same boundaries as Kings County, which is now the most populous county in New York State and the second-most densely populated...
– Flatbush Reformed ChurchFlatbush Dutch Reformed Church ComplexFlatbush Dutch Reformed Church Complex, also referred to more simply as the Flatbush Reformed Church, is a historic Dutch Reformed church at 890 Flatbush Avenue and 2101-2103 Kenmore Terrace in Flatbush, Brooklyn, New York. The complex consists of the church, church house, parsonage, and cemetery....
and Church house - IrvingtonIrvington, New YorkIrvington, sometimes known as Irvington-on-Hudson, is an affluent suburban village in the town of Greenburgh in Westchester County, New York, United States. It is located on the eastern bank of the Hudson River, north of midtown Manhattan in New York City, and is served by a station stop on the...
– Irvington Presbyterian Church - Irvington – Reading Room, Irvington Town HallIrvington Town HallIrvington Town Hall is located along Main Street in the village of Irvington in the U.S. state of New York. In addition to being home to the village government, police department, and until 2000 the public library, it has a public reading room in keeping with the requirements of the original land...
- Manhattan, New York City – West End Collegiate ChurchWest End Collegiate ChurchThe West End Collegiate Church is a church on West End Avenue at 77th Street on Manhattan's Upper West Side. It is part of The Collegiate Reformed Protestant Dutch Church in the City of New York, the oldest Protestant church with a continuing organization in America...
, West End AvenueWest End AvenueWest End Avenue is a north-south thoroughfare on the West Side of the borough of Manhattan in New York City, not far from the Hudson River.West End Avenue originates at West 59th Street; the continuation of the street below 59th Street is called Eleventh Avenue. It runs from 59th Street to its... - ManhattanManhattanManhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
, New York CityNew York CityNew York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
– St. Michael's Church, New York CitySt. Michael's Church, New York CitySt. Michael's Church is a historic Episcopal church at 225 W. 99th Street in New York City. It was founded in January 1807; the present Romanesque building was built in 1890 and added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1996....
, Amsterdam Avenue at 99th Street - RoslynRoslyn, New YorkRoslyn is a village in Nassau County, New York, on the North Shore of Long Island. As of the United States 2010 Census, the village population was 2,770...
, Trinity Episcopal Church - SaugertiesSaugerties, New YorkSaugerties, New York derives its name from Holland Dutch, Zager's Killetje. Zager , and Kill meaning creek or stream, with the suffix "t j e" to indicate small or little. The sawmill was on the Esopus Creek...
– St. Mary of the SnowSt. Mary of the Snow (school)St. Mary of the Snow is an elementary Pre-school through grade 8, Catholic School located in Saugerties, New York.The school was founded in 1881 by the Sisters of Charity, St. Mary of The Snow School offers the children from all Hudson Valley, Saugerties, Kingston, Catskills and Onteora districts...
, 36 Cedar Street
- MassachusettsMassachusettsThe Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
- Boston – Arlington Street Church
- Boston – Church of the CovenantChurch of the Covenant (Boston)The Church of the Covenant is a Boston, Massachusetts, landmark, built in 1865-1867 by the Central Congregational Church and now affiliated with the Presbyterian Church and the United Church of Christ.-History:Built of Roxbury puddingstone in Gothic Revival style it was one of the first churches...
- PennsylvaniaPennsylvaniaThe Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
- PhiladelphiaPhiladelphia, PennsylvaniaPhiladelphia is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Philadelphia County, with which it is coterminous. The city is located in the Northeastern United States along the Delaware and Schuylkill rivers. It is the fifth-most-populous city in the United States,...
– Church of the Holy TrinityChurch of the Holy Trinity, PhiladelphiaChurch of the Holy Trinity is an Episcopal church on Rittenhouse Square in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The first service in the church building, designed by Scottish architect John Notman, was held on March 27, 1859. The corner tower was added in 1867 and was designed by George W... - WilliamsportWilliamsport, PennsylvaniaWilliamsport is a city in and the county seat of Lycoming County, Pennsylvania in the United States. In 2009, the population was estimated at 29,304...
– Christ Community Worship Center, formerly the Presbyterian Church of the Covenant
- Philadelphia
- FloridaFloridaFlorida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
- St. AugustineSt. Augustine, FloridaSt. Augustine is a city in the northeast section of Florida and the county seat of St. Johns County, Florida, United States. Founded in 1565 by Spanish explorer and admiral Pedro Menéndez de Avilés, it is the oldest continuously occupied European-established city and port in the continental United...
– Flagler CollegeFlagler CollegeFlagler College, is a private four-year liberal arts college in St. Augustine, Florida, USA and celebrated its 40th anniversary in 2008.The college has been named in recent years by US News & World Report as one of the southeast region's best comprehensive liberal arts colleges, and is included on...
- St. Augustine
- GeorgiaGeorgia (U.S. state)Georgia is a state located in the southeastern United States. It was established in 1732, the last of the original Thirteen Colonies. The state is named after King George II of Great Britain. Georgia was the fourth state to ratify the United States Constitution, on January 2, 1788...
- MaconMacon, GeorgiaMacon is a city located in central Georgia, US. Founded at the fall line of the Ocmulgee River, it is part of the Macon metropolitan area, and the county seat of Bibb County. A small portion of the city extends into Jones County. Macon is the biggest city in central Georgia...
– St. Paul's Episcopal Church
- Macon
- IllinoisIllinoisIllinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
- ChicagoChicagoChicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
– Macy'sMacy'sMacy's is a U.S. chain of mid-to-high range department stores. In addition to its flagship Herald Square location in New York City, the company operates over 800 stores in the United States...
on State StreetState Street (Chicago)State Street is a large south-north street in Chicago, Illinois, USA and its south suburbs. It begins on the Near North Side at North Avenue. For much of its course, it lies between Wabash Avenue on the east and Dearborn Street/Lafayette Avenue on the west...
, formerly Marshall Field'sMarshall Field'sMarshall Field & Company was a department store in Chicago, Illinois that grew to become a major chain before being acquired by Macy's Inc...
- Chicago
- IndianaIndianaIndiana is a US state, admitted to the United States as the 19th on December 11, 1816. It is located in the Midwestern United States and Great Lakes Region. With 6,483,802 residents, the state is ranked 15th in population and 16th in population density. Indiana is ranked 38th in land area and is...
- IndianopolisIndianapolis, IndianaIndianapolis is the capital of the U.S. state of Indiana, and the county seat of Marion County, Indiana. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city's population is 839,489. It is by far Indiana's largest city and, as of the 2010 U.S...
– Second Presbyterian Church
- Indianopolis
- KansasKansasKansas is a US state located in the Midwestern United States. It is named after the Kansas River which flows through it, which in turn was named after the Kansa Native American tribe, which inhabited the area. The tribe's name is often said to mean "people of the wind" or "people of the south...
- TopekaTopeka, KansasTopeka |Kansa]]: Tó Pee Kuh) is the capital city of the U.S. state of Kansas and the county seat of Shawnee County. It is situated along the Kansas River in the central part of Shawnee County, located in northeast Kansas, in the Central United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was...
– First Presbyterian Church
- Topeka
- MarylandMarylandMaryland is a U.S. state located in the Mid Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware to its east...
- Baltimore – Brown Memorial Presbyterian ChurchBrown Memorial Presbyterian ChurchBrown Memorial Park Avenue Presbyterian Church of Baltimore, Maryland, U.S., is a large, Gothic Revival-style church built in 1870 and located at Park and Lafayette Avenues in the city's Bolton Hill section...
- Baltimore – Brown Memorial Presbyterian Church
- MichiganMichiganMichigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....
- Grand RapidsGrand Rapids, MichiganGrand Rapids is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan. The city is located on the Grand River about 40 miles east of Lake Michigan. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 188,040. In 2010, the Grand Rapids metropolitan area had a population of 774,160 and a combined statistical area, Grand...
– Temple EmanuelTemple Emanuel, (Grand Rapids, Michigan)Temple Emanuel is a Reform synagogue in Grand Rapids, Michigan. The congregation was founded in 1857 and describes itself as the fifth oldest Reform congregation in the United States. The congregation erected its first building in 1882 at the corner of Fountain and Ransom Streets...
- Grand Rapids
- TennesseeTennesseeTennessee is a U.S. state located in the Southeastern United States. It has a population of 6,346,105, making it the nation's 17th-largest state by population, and covers , making it the 36th-largest by total land area...
- MemphisMemphis, TennesseeMemphis is a city in the southwestern corner of the U.S. state of Tennessee, and the county seat of Shelby County. The city is located on the 4th Chickasaw Bluff, south of the confluence of the Wolf and Mississippi rivers....
– Grace-St. Luke's Episcopal Church
- Memphis
- VirginiaVirginiaThe Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
- RichmondRichmond, VirginiaRichmond is the capital of the Commonwealth of Virginia, in the United States. It is an independent city and not part of any county. Richmond is the center of the Richmond Metropolitan Statistical Area and the Greater Richmond area...
– Congregation Beth AhabahCongregation Beth AhabahBeth Ahabah is a Reform synagogue in Richmond, Virginia. Founded in 1789 by Spanish and Portuguese Jews as Kahal Kadosh Beth Shalome it is one of the oldest synagogues in the United States.-History:When the congregation was founded, there were 100 Jews in Richmond's population of 3,900...
- Richmond
- Washington
- SeattleSeattle, WashingtonSeattle is the county seat of King County, Washington. With 608,660 residents as of the 2010 Census, Seattle is the largest city in the Northwestern United States. The Seattle metropolitan area of about 3.4 million inhabitants is the 15th largest metropolitan area in the country...
– Pierre P. Ferry HousePierre P. Ferry HouseThe Pierre P. Ferry House is an historic home in Seattle, Washington.-History:The American Craftsman home was designed by Seattle architect John Graham. The art glass windows in the main hall with the elaborate peacock were designed by Tiffany Studios. Orlando Giannini of the Chicago firm...
- Seattle
Museums
- Neustadt Collection of Tiffany Glass, Long Island City, New YorkNew YorkNew York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
- Haworth Art GalleryHaworth Art GalleryThe Haworth Art Gallery is a public art gallery located in Accrington, Lancashire, northwest England, in the United Kingdom, and is the home of the largest collection in Europe of Tiffany glass from the studio of Louis Comfort Tiffany...
, AccringtonAccringtonAccrington is a town in Lancashire, within the borough of Hyndburn. It lies about east of Blackburn, west of Burnley, north of Manchester city centre and is situated on the mostly culverted River Hyndburn...
, EnglandEnglandEngland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...