Tiffany Floor Lamps - An Attractive Lighting Alternative

By [http://ezinearticles.com/?expert=Ruby_Katz]Ruby Katz



Tiffany floor lamps have shades made from stained glass that's soldered with copper foil. While the term Tiffany refer to any floor lamp with that type of shade, the name itself comes from Louis Comfort Tiffany, who began creating this type of lamp in 1895. His lamps were considered one of the most important American contributions to the Art Nouveau movement that took place in late 19th century Europe. A creation of his has now gone for over eight million dollars at auction.



Tiffany floor lamps are popular today, coming in many different base styles, even though originals were made with a brass base. Reproductions can use almost anything, and range from cheap to very expensive. They will all have a stained glass shade, but not necessarily from the exact materials used by the master--in fact, many reproductions are made with much cheaper and less grand materials than those originally made by Louis Tiffany.



True reproduction Tiffany floor lamps are made, first with a pattern drawn on heavy cardboard. Each part of the pattern is numbered and a color is chosen and written on the pattern. Then a piece of glass is laid on top and traced with the pattern, before its cut into the correct shapes and cleaned thoroughly. Copper foil is always the material that's used in the best reproductions of Tiffany floor lamps rather than some other type of material. It's put between the glass pieces and then the edges are soldered.



Tiffany floor lamps are rarely available today, which is part of the reason they draw such a high price when they are found. The numbers are low because they were craftsman pieces, not mass-produced items turned out on an assembly line, for instance. He and a few other artists created the patterns and the lamps, and everything was done by hand. There are no records of how many lamps were created from each pattern, which makes the discovery of Tiffany floor lamps exciting because no one knows at first if the lamp is one-of-a-kind.



When he began creating them, they were stamped with the word Favrile, which means glass. The earliest lamps bear this mark, and are rare today. When found, these command some of the highest prices. Later he began using his initials, LCT instead of Favrile. This is an important distinction when appraising the work, because it gives the appraiser and idea of when the glass was created.



Tiffany did not just wake up one day with the idea to make Tiffany floor lamps with stained glass shades. He was working in New York for an interior design company, designing stained glass windows. The leftover glass pieces gave him the idea to make lampshades from them. He continued designing for the firm and painting, but his brand of artistry was born and soon became his only pursuit.



Tiffany floor lamps made today should stay true to the artist's original styles and the techniques he used to give his shades their distinctive and beautiful appearance. He used seven different style techniques, some of which were Irregular Upper and Lower Border lamps, made with open-look edging to give the appearance of tree branches or shrubs. Geometric styles he used in some lamps were merely geometric shapes in the pattern of the glass. Transition to Flowers was another style, which saw more flowers and foliage used in the designs.



Tiffany floor lamps boast the types of designs used by the original artist, like flowers, spiders, spiderwebs, butterflies, dragonflies and things from nature that give Tiffany floor lamps that distinctive Tiffany look. Some were created in a cone shape, others in a globe.



Tiffany floor lamps you can buy today can vary in quality and workmanship. If you want a good reproduction, you'll need to research the manufacturer and ask questions about how they're designed and produced, and what types of materials are used.



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