|
CASH Rebate Program
Home Page
|
IS THIS REAL GLASS?
by Ronda Young
From time to time we get this question about our stained glass items and we want
to assure you that all of our Tiffany styled lamps are indeed made of real fine
quality art glass. Many of the types of glass are hand blown here in the US.
Here is some additional information you may find useful about stained glass
lamps and determining when you see them in person as to whether or not it is
real glass:
The technique of making lamp shades and glass panels with the small pieces of
glass in intricate curved shapes was developed by L.C. Tiffany during the early
1900's. Each piece of glass is cut to fit the pattern. It is then wrapped in a
thin piece of paper that is covered in copper foil on one side and is sticky on
the other. The wrapped piece of glass is attached to the form. This step is
repeated until all of the glass pieces are cut and then soldered into place.
Because of this tight wrapping of the glass, there is no room for the glass to
resonate and have the glass sound and feel like you expect to get when tapping
on the surface. Normally, glass like in windows and in glassware is free to
resonate with vibrations caused from tapping on it, but in the case of the
stained glass copper foil technique, this is lost and a dull thump is often all
we hear.
In addition, the lamps are oiled usually with lemon oil to clean off the
chemical residues from manufacturing and then put in storage until sold/shipped,
so sometimes the glass will still have an oily feeling adding to the sensation
that it may not be real glass.
The way you can tell that a lamp shade is real glass is by the depth of color,
especially when lit and also by the weight of the shade. Plastic "glass" is
quite light and won't have the brilliance of color that our true stained glass
has.
The techniques used for making our glass shades greatly adds to their strength,
but even so, they still are glass, and care must be taken when handling them
like with all glass products. If a shade gets dropped it may crack, and runners
may form down the glass. These are heirloom quality lamps, and with minimal care
you should not have any problems, and will be able to pass the lamp on from
generation to generation.
(c) Copyright 2007 by
YoungWorks
|
Home Page
CASH Rebate Program
Articles
The Chinese Dragon
Dale Tiffany Lamps
Decorating Tips
Decorating With Toile
Our Tiffany Glass
Tiffany Lampshades
Favorite Links
YoungWorks Store
Collegiate-Merchandise.com
The Oaks Gallery
About Us
YoungWorks FAQs
Privacy
|
