A famous type of antique glass lamp shade is the Tiffany which is renowned all over the globe for their exquisite craftsmanship. Even so, most people do not understand how much labor goes into the making of each of these shades. Correspondingly the amount of labor and talent required to restore one of these is also very high.

The casual observer sees that the lamp is made up of small panels of stained glass that seem to be pieced together. In fact, there is nothing else holding the pieces of glass together except for bits of glue and solder. There is no rigid frame to provide support. Instead all of it is like a jigsaw puzzle that falls apart under time and stress.

Tiffany used a mold during the construction phase of the lamp. The mold had the shape of the shade, and was used to hold the pieces of glass. Once all the glass was in position, a solder was used to join all the pieces together. A restorer, in the most extreme cases, has to disassemble the entire lamp by tearing apart the glass, cleaning it, and then reassembling it. He or she must also create a new mold to mimic the shape of the lamp.

Tiffany shades share a history with the well-regarded jewelry retailer that is familiar around the globe. The designer, Louis Comfort Tiffany, was a man of the early 20th century, forging novel art and improving the industry of interior decorating. Tiffany was an owner of his own business. He used his position to innovate prolifically, aided by classical techniques in stained glass and translating them into new media. The Tiffany lamp shades are made up of panes of stained glass framed in metal, the construction of which mirrors church windows. When lit, they became brilliant scenes drawn from natural scenes such as animals, insects and landscapes.

Torchiere shades are the ubiquitous standing lamps found in homes. They are versatile as they can be moved to different locations as need be in the house. The tall lamp projects light upward, casting a soft glow on everything. The lamp shade has a cone design with a highly large angle. This allows it to spread the light the most, canonically toward the ceiling so light is reflected back off the walls. The sizes and available hues are numerous for torchieres. Make sure you have the correct width by finding out the top diameter, in addition to the width of the fitter.

Glass lamp shades are available in a number of sizes and shapes. The designs carry rich names, such as hurricane glass shades and gas lamp shades. The hurricane design bears a very special shape, its height exceeds the width, not unlike the shape of a vase. It meshes well with very tall ceilings that is completed by the tallness of the hurricane lamp shade. Another interesting shade is the historical gas lamp shade that saw itself popularized in the time of Queen Victoria’s reign. The day and age observed the spread of gas power gas lights and the consequent increase in both number and artistic styles.