Stained Glass
The tradition of glassmaking can trace its roots back to the times of the ancient Egyptian peoples. Through Roman times, through the Medieval period, and up into the Victorian era, the art of stained glass as a beautiful way to decorate church windows and other religious facilities became an image of the religious life. However, when the 1800's rolled around, tinting glass different colors and arranging them in decorative ways moved into the secular areas of business and domestic windows.

The arrangement of stained glass into images and patterns has been used for many different applications. Floor mosaics, windows, and lamps, are more traditional ways of using glass while more modern usage includes candle holders, sun catchers, table tops, door panels, and delicate fountains. The incandescence and reflective qualities of glass makes it an ideal decorative material to use.

The two most widely used types of glass are Translucent Glass, made from the staining of one color into the glass, and Opalescent Glass, usually milky in appearance and created using two or more colors, creating a streaked look. In Tiffany style lamps a third type--translucent glass--is utilized. This type is ideal because it diffuses light enough to not be glaring, but allows enough through so a soft glow emanates from the lamp.

Other factors that affect the look of stained glass are the textures added to make the glass shine in patterns within its own form. The most popular treatments are waterglass (an effect making the glass appear as if a light wind were rippling the surface of the glass like water) and gluechip (when glue, once applied to the glass, dries and flakes off, making crack-like patterns across the surface). With this information, you can more easily define what you are seeking for in when looking at lamps of your choice.