The name Tiffany Glass refers to a technique of glazing stained glass, probably invented by the renowned American artist Louis Comfort Tiffany (1848-1933). He explored a wide range of glass techniques from the art of stained glass to mosaics, including the invention and fabrication of unique stained glass, as well as the blowing of artisan style favrile glass of multiple variations. The cutting methods and tools used are identical to those of traditional stained glass procedures, but assembling is done differently. Less rigid than lead came glazed glass, Tiffany Glass consists of using thin strips of copper, instead of lead, to surround each piece of glass before placing them on the cartoon in the frame. Soldering is then executed using tin rods. Glazing the glass in this way makes it possible to use small pieces of glass, and if necessary to increase their volume by lamination.

Tiffany made particularly good use of this new method, more pliant than traditional methods, to fashion his lamps, for which he often used raw materials salvaged from large glass factories. At that time, he was using thin strips of copper; today those strips are furnished with adhesive which facilitates considerably the glazing of the glass prior to soldering. Moreover, it should be noted that Tiffany along with John La Farge was the inventor in the late 1870’s of what Europeans came to know as “American Glass” -- a glass that forever changed the conception of stained glass, and opened up vast new possibilities to European artists. This glass, often iridised or opalescent, is famous for its rich textures, trails, waves, folds and ripples.

DUNCAN Alastair, “Louis Comfort Tiffany”, Abrams, New York, 1992