Tiffany Lamps - Tiffany Style Lamps
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Tiffany Lamp Care, Tips and Info
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Brief History of Tiffany Lamps
Most of us, when we hear the word "Tiffany" have a recognition of the name. Some of us may associate the name with perhaps one of the largest and most famous jewelry firms, Tiffany & Company. It is from this family, that one of America's most diverse and talented artists was born.
Louis Comfort Tiffany was one of the greatest painters and designers of American decorative art. He was born in New York in 1848, the son of Charles Lewis Tiffany. Charles Lewis Tiffany was the founder of Tiffany & Co. the highly regarded jewelry retailer. Incredibly talented and creative, Louis Comfort Tiffany enjoyed a remarkable career. L.C. Tiffany made his most impressive mark on the art scene by designing stained glass windows, lamps, mosaics and other fine decorative jewelry. Tiffany's lamps were exhibited worldwide. At the turn of the 20th century Tiffany earned several prizes, honors and international status at the Universal Exposition in Paris. Louis Comfort Tiffany was as skillful a businessman as he was an artist. Prior to being named the first Design Director of his father's Tiffany & Co. in 1902, he managed a number of interior design firms and decorative art companies.
Louis Comfort Tiffany was incredibly innovative and single handedly set the stained glass world on a new course. Tiffany came up with an idea to amalgamate bits and pieces of discarded glass thrown off from production of his stained glass windows to form beautiful decorative lamps. Tiffany's diverse collection of eclectic colors and techniques, known today as Tiffany glass, continues to be in a class of it's own. Louis Comfort Tiffany was heavily influenced by Japanese art forms in which nature was front and center.
Although Tiffany's work with stained glass windows continued to occupy the limelight, the colored-glass lampshades began to emerge as items of interest. The advent of electricity at the turn of the century further enhanced their importance and universal usefulness. In addition to the lampshades, Tiffany produced other decorative objects such as bronze lamp bases, stands for vases, trays, candlesticks, jewel boxes, clocks, desk sets, table lamp, floor lamp and other related items. These proved popular as gifts and their wide public acceptance spread Tiffany's name and fame. With the advancing electrification of houses and apartments, the lamp department became increasingly important. Ceiling fixtures and hanging lampshades were added to the items Tiffany produced.
One of Louis Comfort Tiffany's declared goals was to "bring beauty into the home in order that we might live with it, absorb its substance and so enhance our existence". It was in the medium of glass and particularly in the lamps produced by Tiffany Studios that Tiffany, achieved his greatest success. He gave his creations a uniqueness which became know as "The Touch of Tiffany". Reproductions of his original designs are sold for thousands of dollars and still have a place in the market and are known as Tiffany style lamps.
Modern furnishing and decor have mandated new designs, color combinations and different application of glass. The concept of using colored and patterned glass in an artistic fashion, remains today associated with the name "Tiffany". Tiffany style lighting is found in every period mode, from the most formal to the very casual. Like other Works of Art, Tiffany products will always find a place in the "eye of the beholder".