Tiffany lamps are included in a style of lighting commonly referred to as Tiffany lighting. Tiffany lighting is associated with beautiful lighting fixtures which incorporate the use of patterned, designed and colored glass that is fashioned in an artistic way to become the focal point or breathtaking accent piece of any home. There are many styles associated with Tiffany lamps which can compliment any décor no matter whether it is Country, Formal or Contemporary.

Tiffany lighting is named after its inventor, Louis Comfort Tiffany. Tiffany was an extremely talented artist who was well versed in many different artistic pursuits including painting, decorating and architecture. Before the turn of the century his work graced many American homes and public buildings in the form of paintings, tapestries, tiles, stained glass windows, wall paper, vases and lamps. But it was only after he invented a way to process glass into opalescent and beautifully crafted objects used for home decoration that he experienced phenomenal success. It is this process of producing iridescent glass known as “Favrile” that Tiffany is most remembered for.

Soon, Tiffany’s “art glass” was very popular indeed. He produced decorative objects such as trays, jewel boxes, clocks, desk sets, lampshades and candlesticks which were very popular gift items. But after the advent of electricity, Tiffany’s lamp department took center stage and shone above the rest of his works in terms of popularity. This increase in popularity led Tiffany to produce more items along these lines including ceiling fixtures and hanging lampshades.

Today, top-of-the-line manufacturers such as Meyda and Dale Tiffany continue to produce Tiffany lamps in a way that would be appreciated by Tiffany himself. Far from being mass produced home décor accessories, Tiffany lamps are individual pieces of art both of modern design and replicas of Tiffany’s greatest works.

In Tiffany’s day, Tiffany lamps were either designed by Tiffany himself or other artists working directly under his supervision. The bases of Tiffany lamps were most commonly sculpted in bronze resulting in a fine work of art for the base of the lamp. The unique, large and complex lamp shades were created by fittings hundreds of hand cut and hand selected glass shapes into copper foil enclosures in a technique referred to as copper foiling.

While modern technology has allowed the process of making Tiffany lamps to become a little quicker and more efficient, Tiffany lamps are still hand crafted using techniques which mirror those of Tiffany and his artisans. One of the major differences in how Tiffany lamps are created today as compared to how they were made in Tiffany’s day is the use of lead-free soldering during the copper foil method of connecting the various pieces of cut glass together.

Tiffany lamps are also made using a iridescent glass called Favrile, which was also invented by Tiffany. When Tiffany obtained his early patent under the name Favrile, it included several types of glass used in the manufacture of stained-glass windows as well as leaded and blown shades. Today this term presupposes predominantly the blown forms such as shades and other types of hollow ware.

Just as in Tiffany’s day, today’s artisans and crafters of Tiffany lamps strive to make each Tiffany lamp a unique work of art fit to grace any home from the smallest woodland cottage to the finest mansion.