lotsoflamps.com :: Tiffany Table Lamps
Our huge selection of Tiffany Table Lamps from popular brands like Dale Tiffany, Meyda Tiffany and Quoizel can make your spaces come to life. These timeless heirlooms are sure to please for years to come.
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Tiffany Table Lamps Categories
Tiffany table lamps
"Tiffany table lamps" is a generic term these days. It is used to refer to almost any kind of stained glass lamp. Sometimes it's even used to refer to lamps with glass shades that are merely tinted one color, though these are far removed from real Tiffany lamps. This is unfortunate and misleading for someone looking for a good reproduction. All of Louis Comfort Tiffany's lamps were made from stained glass in his distinctive style.
Louis Tiffany worked at a New York design firm when he began creating his signature lamps in 1895. He designed stained glass for them, and found the leftover pieces of glass were inspirational. He assembled them into lampshades, and soon began making cutting new glass for his deigns. He eventually stopped painting and designing for the firm, and stepped out on his own with the help of a few artisans. He's one of the foremost artists of the late 19th century, and contributed to the European Art Nouveau movement.
Tiffany table lamps that are still in existence are very valuable, with one even drawing over 8 million dollars! Original Tiffany table lamps are rare today, and little is known about how many were ever created, which makes them even more valuable. While a single design could be used an infinite number of times, Tiffany and his workers didn't keep records of how many lamps were created from each pattern. And since everything was created by hand, the numbers were much smaller than other items that were cranked out on assembly lines. The breakable nature of glass could also contribute to the small numbers of real Tiffany lamps in existence today.
Reproduction Tiffany table lamps made today should follow the same process of manufacture that Tiffany and his artists followed. The design should be drawn onto a heavy duty material and then traced onto the pieces of glass to be used in the lamp. Once the glass is cut and cleaned, copper foil is used to assemble the design. Of the reproduction manufacturers creating these lamps today, Dale Tiffany is one of the best known and respected.
Tiffany table lamps, originals and reproductions, rely heavily on only a handful of different styles and techniques mastered by Louis Tiffany in his heyday. Irregular Upper and Lower Border lamps boast an almost free-flowing and beautiful openwork edging that looks like tree branches. This is one of the most distinctive Tiffany styles, and one of the most elegant. Geometric styles grace originals and reproductions alike, with a variety of shapes and colors making up the design. Others rely heavily on flowers, sometimes one flower per design, or several.
Flowers and nature make up the themes that are among the most popular today. Dragonflies, spiders, spiderwebs flowers and other bits of nature are one of the things that set Tiffany table lamps apart from the rest. Most are shapes like cones or globes, and can come in a variety of colors, or different shades of only one or two colors.
While most people might not even know who Tiffany was, or anything about the history of stained glass or his functional art pieces, they've heard the name. They might see a stained glass lamp and immediately think it's one of the Tiffany table lamps they've heard of. Tiffany table lamps bring with them the history and artistry of Louis Tiffany, and can make any room look opulent and rich, but only if it's a good reproduction.
Inexpensive reproductions can be made in a variety of ways, with a variety of cheap materials that don't hold any of the appeal of real Tiffany table lamps. Find out about the manufacturer and the method of production. And look carefully at the glass. No matter how delightful a design might be, cheap glass is the mark of a poor reproduction. The glass should show varying shades and colors when look at from different angles, and in different light.