Just as the Arts & Crafts lighting movement was a by-product of the machine age, the Tiffany style of lighting and decoration emerged in America in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The result is richly decorated creations that are pure pieces of American style and history.
The roots of the Tiffany style
At the dawn of the industrial age, more and more objects – from furniture to automobiles – were being mass-produced. Many artists and designers rebelled by returning to handcrafted pieces rich in individuality.
The ornate and decorative Art Nouveau movement was in full swing in the early 20th century, fuelled by a desire to bring art into everyday life. The artistic and crafted beauty of Tiffany glass lent itself perfectly to this, and it is one of the most recognisable art forms to come out of this period.
Louis Comfort Tiffany
The namesake of Tiffany glass is Louis Comfort Tiffany, born in 1848.
His father, Charles Lewis Tiffany, was one of the founders of Tiffany & Co. The elder Tiffany clearly passed on to his son the desire to create beautiful things.
Tiffany trained as a painter in New York and Paris with George Inness, Samuel Colman and others.
Back in New York, he worked as an interior designer and began to specialise in stained glass. In 1885 he established the Tiffany Glass Company, which was to become Tiffany Studios.
Favrile glass
Tiffany opened his own glassworks in 1893, where he created and patented Favrile glass. The name is based on the Old English word Fabrile, which means “handmade”. He created many types of art glass, from breathtaking iridescent colours to glass imbued with tiny strings, fractures, ripples and marbling.
Traditionally, glass was made with as few impurities as possible. However, Tiffany discovered that he could manipulate these impurities to create colours and patterns in glass that the world had never seen before. This exquisite glasswork was to become his signature.
The history of Tiffany lamps
The first Tiffany lamp was created in 1895. Until very recently, it was thought that Tiffany himself was behind the design and creation of his famous original lamps. However, it has been discovered that a woman named Clara Driscoll created the first Tiffany lamps that made the company famous. She was employed as a designer at Tiffany Studios for over 20 years creating these original designs.
These original models of Tiffany lamps are characterised by the use of sumptuous ornamentation and motifs inspired by nature. The most famous Tiffany lamps are the “dragonfly”, the “wisteria” and the “daffodil”. It took many hours of skilled craftsmanship to capture the intricate beauty of nature in stained glass.
How a Tiffany lamp is made
To create a Tiffany table lamp or Tiffany floor lamp, hundreds of pieces of coloured glass must be fused together. The modern process used for this is called the copper foil method. It is not yet known whether this process was developed by Louis Comfort Tiffany himself or by another American glass artist called John La Farge.
First, the decorative motif is created on a paper or cardboard model. The sheets of glass are then cut to fit the model.
Next, the individual pieces of glass are ground and then wrapped in copper adhesive tape. Finally, these pieces are soldered together to create the final design.
The Tiffany art glass pieces are held firmly in place by the soldered joints. So firmly, in fact, that they don’t vibrate or resonate when struck like normal glass or drinking glasses. For this reason, they produce a muffled, thudding sound when struck, a sound that many interpret as plastic or a material other than glass.
You can tell a genuine Tiffany-style glass shade by the brilliance of its colours. Some glass has texture, and you can see slight imperfections and irregularities in the glass itself. Finally, an art glass shade will be much heavier than a plastic one.
The Tiffany legacy
Favrile glass and Tiffany lamps have become very popular in the country and in Europe. The Tiffany company also branched out into jewellery and pottery. The Tiffany style is still very popular today. Original Tiffany lamps fetch considerable sums, while many modern companies continue the tradition of making beautiful Tiffany art glass lighting and decorative objects.
Louis Comfort Tiffany made an enormous contribution to the aesthetics of the 20th century. But you don’t have to be an art historian to appreciate the brilliance of a Tiffany lamp. Tiffany lighting adds character and context to classic homes. Even in more modern designs, a beautiful art glass is never out of place.