Glass developed by Tiffany Studios in New York City by Louis Comfort Tiffany and others
Girl with Cherry Blossoms illustrates many types of glass employed by Tiffany including elaborate polychrome painting of the face, drapery glass for the dress, opalescent glass for the blossoms, streaky glass in the border, fracture-streamer glass in the background and what may be iridescent glass in the beads.Central frame of Pequot Library triptych, completed in 1898 as a gift from Southport's Wakeman Family. Shows tree of Knowledge, as well as early printers William Caxton and Aldus Manutius
Tiffany glass refers to the many and varied types of glass developed and produced from 1878 to 1929–1930[1][2][3][4] at the Tiffany Studios in New York City, by Louis Comfort Tiffany and a team of other designers, including Clara Driscoll,[5][6] Agnes F. Northrop,[7] and Frederick Wilson.
In 1865, Tiffany traveled to Europe, and in London he visited the Victoria and Albert Museum, whose extensive collection of Roman and Syrian glass made a deep impression on him. He admired the coloration of medieval glass and was convinced that the quality of contemporary glass could be improved upon because the production of art glass in America during this time was not close to what Europeans were creating. In his own words, the "Rich tones are due in part to the use of pot metal full of impurities, and in part to the uneven thickness of the glass, but still more because the glass maker of that day abstained from the use of paint".
Tiffany was an interior designer, and in 1878 his interest turned toward the creation of stained glass, when he opened his own studio and glass foundry because he was unable to find the types of glass that he desired in interior decoration. His inventiveness both as a designer of windows and as a producer of the material with which to create them was to become renowned.[8] Tiffany wanted the glass itself to transmit texture and rich colors and he developed a type of glass he called "Favrile".
The favrile, or "fabrile" glass was manufactured at the Tiffany factory located at 96–18 43rd Avenue in the Corona section of Queens[9] from 1901 to 1932. Today, the Louis Tiffany School or New York City'sP.S. (public school) 110Q, is now built on the old site.[1]
Closing
The closing of the factory has been a matter of some controversy. Tiffany's glass fell out of favor in the 1910s, and by the 1920s a foundry had been installed for a separate bronze company. Tiffany's leadership and talent, as well as his father's money and old firm allowed Tiffany to relaunch Tiffany studios as a marketing strategy in order for his business to thrive. In 1932, Tiffany Studios filed for bankruptcy. Ownership of the complex passed back to the original owners of the factory — the Roman Bronze Works — which had served as a subcontractor to Tiffany for many years."[1][3][10]John Polachek, founder of the General Bronze Corporation —who had worked at the Tiffany Studios earlier— purchased the Roman Bronze Works (the old Tiffany Studios).[2][4] General Bronze then became the largest bronze fabricator in New York City formed through the merger of his own companies and Tiffany's Corona factory.[2][11][4] Louis Tiffany subsequently died in 1933.
Types
Opalescent glass
Opalescent glass
The term "opalescent glass" is commonly used to describe glass where more than one color is present, being fused during the manufacture, as against flashed glass in which two colors may be laminated, or silver stained glass where a solution of silver nitrate is superficially applied, turning red glass to orange and blue glass to green. Some opalescent glass was used by several stained glass studios in England from the 1860s and 1870s onwards, notably Heaton, Butler and Bayne. Its use became increasingly common. Opalescent glass is the basis for the range of glasses created by Tiffany.[notes 1]
In addition opalescent glass comes in three main types. The first type is exemplified by blue-tinged semi-opaque or clear glass with milky opalescence in the center, seen in creations by Lalique, Sabino, and Jobling's. This effect is achieved through slower cooling, causing crystallization. The glass glows golden when backlit and a beautiful blue when front-lit. Many French companies in the 1920s and 1930s, such as Lalique and Sabino, produced opalescent art deco pieces. The second type features a milky white edge or raised pattern on colored pressed glass. Reheating sections during the cooling process turns them white, creating a decorative effect. This method was employed by various companies, including Barolac in Bohemia, Joblings in England, and Val St Lambert in Belgium. The third type involves hand-blown glass with two layers, containing heat-reactive components like bone ash. The glass is blown into a mold with a raised pattern, and reheating turns the heat-sensitive glass milky white, creating a contrasting silhouette against the clear background (for more information [1]).
Tiffany patentedFavrile glass in 1892. Favrile glass often has a distinctive characteristic that is common in some glass from Classical antiquity: it possesses a superficial iridescence. This iridescence causes the surface to shimmer, but also causes a degree of opacity. This iridescent effect of the glass was obtained by mixing different colors of glass together while hot.
Favrile glass is distinguished by brilliant or deeply toned colors, usually iridescent like the wings of certain American butterflies, the necks of pigeons and peacocks, the wing covers of various beetles.
Louis C. Tiffany
Streamer glass
Streamer glass
Streamer glass refers to a sheet of glass with a pattern of glass strings affixed to its surface. Tiffany made use of such textured glass to represent, for example, twigs, branches and grass. Streamers are prepared from very hot molten glass, gathered at the end of a punty (pontil) that is rapidly swung back and forth and stretched into long, thin strings that rapidly cool and harden. These hand-stretched streamers are pressed on the molten surface of sheet glass during the rolling process, and become permanently fused.
Fracture glass
Fracture glass
Fracture glass refers to a sheet of glass with a pattern of irregularly shaped, thin glass wafers affixed to its surface. Tiffany made use of such textured glass to represent, for example, foliage seen from a distance.
The irregular glass wafers, called fractures, are prepared from very hot, colored molten glass, gathered at the end of a blowpipe. A large bubble is forcefully blown until the walls of the bubble rapidly stretch, cool and harden. The resulting glass bubble has paper-thin walls and is immediately shattered into shards. These hand blown shards are pressed on the surface of the molten glass sheet during the rolling process, to which they become permanently fused.
Fracture-streamer glass
Fracture-streamer glass
Fracture-streamer glass refers to a sheet of glass with a pattern of glass strings, and irregularly shaped, thin glass wafers, affixed to its surface. Tiffany made use of such textured glass to represent, for example, twigs, branches and grass, and distant foliage. The process is as above except that both streamers and fractures are applied to sheet glass during the rolling process.
Ring mottle glass
Ring mottle glass
Ring mottle glass refers to sheet glass with a pronounced mottle created by localized, heat-treated opacification and crystal-growth dynamics. Ring mottle glass was invented by Tiffany in the early 20th century. Tiffany's distinctive style exploited glass containing a variety of motifs such as those found in ring mottle glass, and he relied minimally on painted details.
When Tiffany Studio closed in 1929–1930,[3][1][2][4] the secret formula for making ring mottle glass was forgotten and lost. Ring mottle glass was re-discovered in the late sixties by Eric Lovell of Uroboros Glass.[12] Traditionally used for organic details on leaves and other natural elements, ring mottles also find a place in contemporary work when abstract patterns are desired.
Ripple glass refers to textured glass with marked surface waves. Tiffany made use of such textured glass to represent, for example, water or leaf veins. The texture is created during the glass sheet-forming process. A sheet is formed from molten glass with a roller that spins on itself while travelling forward. Normally the roller spins at the same speed as its own forward motion, much like a steam roller flattening tarmac, and the resulting sheet has a smooth surface. In the manufacture of rippled glass, the roller spins faster than its own forward motion. The rippled effect is retained as the glass cools.
Drapery glass
Pieces of drapery glass in a lampshade
Drapery glass refers to a sheet of heavily folded glass that suggests fabric folds. Tiffany made abundant use of drapery glass in ecclesiastical stained glass windows to add a 3-dimensional effect to flowing robes and angel wings, and to imitate the natural coarseness of magnolia petals. The making of drapery glass requires skill and experience. A small diameter hand-held roller is manipulated forcefully over a sheet of molten glass to produce heavy ripples, while folding and creasing the entire sheet. The ripples become rigid and permanent as the glass cools. Each sheet produced from this artisanal process is unique.
Cutting techniques
In order to cut streamer, fracture or ripple glass, the sheet may be scored on the side without streamers, fractures or ripples with a carbide glass cutter, and broken at the score line with breaker-grozier pliers.
In order to cut drapery glass, the sheet may be placed on styrofoam, scored with a carbide glass cutter, and broken at the score line with breaker-grozier pliers, but a bandsaw or ringsaw are the preferred.
Locations and collections
The Angel of the Resurrection, Louis Comfort Tiffany's work in the First Presbyterian Church, Indianapolis (1905)The "Spring" panel from The Four Seasons. This panel was on display at Tiffany's Long Island estate, "Laurelton Hall", and is now in the permanent collection of the Charles Hosmer Morse Museum of American Art.Bella apartment window c. 1880, in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of ArtWindows with sunrise in the forest at springtime, and autumn sunset (1905), in the collection of the Brooklyn Museum1895 Tiffany Glass Decorating Company panel located inside Pittsburgh's Calvary United Methodist Church
^The use of the term opalescent is actually a misnomer. Opalescence actually refers to the quality of changing color under transmitted light, rather than the quality of having several colors present. A rare example of true opalescent glass is the Roman Lycurgus cup in the British Museum
^Stage "curtain" which is a stained glass foldable panel created out of nearly a million pieces of iridescent colored glass by Tiffany's in New York.
^"Roman Bronze Works". Amon Carter Museum of American Art. Carter Museum. Retrieved 23 December 2023.
^"John Polachek, An Industrialist"(PDF). The New York Times. Obituaries. 18 April 1955. p. 22. Retrieved 18 December 2023. In 1903, he became a supervisor of bronze manufacturing for Tiffany Studios. Founder of General Bronze Corporation Dies – Products Adorn Leading Buildings
^"Architecture & History". Trinity Lutheran Church. 2004. A lavish stained glass window by Louis Comfort Tiffany, which pictures Jesus and a young child, was installed in 1916.
^"Campus". All Saints' Episcopal Church. Retrieved July 19, 2017. When entering the church nave, a visitor is struck by the vibrancy of the red apse and the stained glass windows. Six of the nave and chapel windows were crafted by Tiffany studios. Windows in the chapel depict the creation story over the altar and scenes from the lives of biblical and contemporary saints on the side walls.
^"History". Trinity Episcopal Church, Covington, Kentucky. Trinity Episcopal Church of Covington Kentucky. Retrieved July 19, 2017. Added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1982, Trinity contains a number of important works of art, including stained glass windows designed by the John Riordan Studio of Cincinnati as well as the St. Michael Archangel window created by the Louis Tiffany studio of New York.
^"Stained Glass Windows". Rutgers – Kirkpatrick Chapel. Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey. Archived from the original on 21 October 2013. Retrieved 2 September 2013.
^"The Beginning". Trinity Episcopal Church. Retrieved July 19, 2017. The sanctuary of Trinity church boasts 20 stained glass windows, some priceless, including two made by Tiffany Studios of New York.... The great window over the altar depicting Christ as the protector of "the least of these, my brethren" was designed and made by Louis Comfort Tiffany of New York in 1904 in memory of George and Magnolia Sealy and is one of the rarest of its kind due its size, age and the fact that it remained intact and unbroken through many natural disasters.
^"Visiting". Trinity Episcopal Church, Staunton, Virginia. Trinity Episcopal Church. 21 June 2013. Retrieved July 19, 2017. Tourists are particularly interested in the stained-glass, including 12 Tiffany windows which span Louis Comfort Tiffany's 40-year career.
^"Haworth Art Gallery, Accrington". Hyndburn – The place to be – an excellent council. Hyndburn Borough Council. Retrieved July 19, 2017. Come and visit the Haworth Art Gallery and see for yourself the world-famous Tiffany glass collection – the largest public collection in Europe. Free admission gives you access to 4 rooms dedicated to the collection, see fine examples of Louis Comfort Tiffany's Favrile glass vases, mosaics, and tiles in both static and interactive exhibits.
^"Welcome to the Morse Museum". The Charles Hosmer Morse Museum of American Art. Charles Hosmer Morse Foundation, Inc. 2016. The Morse Museum houses the world's most comprehensive collection of works by Louis Comfort Tiffany (1848–1933), including the artist and designer's jewelry, pottery, paintings, art glass, leaded-glass lamps and windows; his chapel interior from the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago; and art and architectural objects from his Long Island country estate, Laurelton Hall.
