Victorian And Other Types Of Vintage Glass Lamp Shades
The style that is known as the Victorian lamp shade contains three basic elements: a metallic frame which serves as a support structure, sturdy fabric that is placed onto the frame, and a fringe or beaded skirt that hangs on the shade. The particular style spread after Edison and Tesla presented their respective ideas for distributing electricity to the population. Before this time, lighting in the house was powered by gas. The gas-fired flame meant that fabric shades would catch on fire.
Rather to protect and cover the flame, glass lamp shades were conceived and designed. Glass has a high melting point so could cover gas flames. However, the arrival of municipal electricity meant that it was no longer necessary to resort to a single material and many houses accepted the Victorian-style fabric-based shades. On the other hand, glass lamp shades continue to be very popular because of their interesting construction.
The convention for naming Victorian shades does require some explanation. The period of Queen Victorian ended in 1901 meaning that there was only some 15-20 years between the invention of city-wide electricity and fabric-based shades. Although such fast acceptance of the style is not inconceivable.
The Victorian lamp shade may have a simple construction, but the varieties in the wire frame scaffold as well as the varieties in the design of the fabric in terms of its patterning, color and adornments vary greatly. The traditional fringe also had a large number of presentations, including beading or other types of fringe adornments. Often people compare the Victorian shade with other glass lamp shades.
For example, the type of glass light shades that is widely known as Tiffany is closely connected to the illustrious jewelry store that is famed all over the world. The creator, Louis Comfort Tiffany, lived in the early 1900s, forging novel art and innovating in the industry of home decorating. There are two main reasons why Tiffany indulged in lamp shades. The first is that he had classical training in the arts and understood the construction of stained glass windows in churches. The second is that he was by trade also an interior designer who thought up novel home decor ideas. 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.
A large number of other designs are widely available for lamp shades. Some of the desirable ones are the hurricane and the gas shades. Hurricane shades are characterized by a curvy pear profile that bulges in the middle and subsequently tapering up into a thin top. Because of its vase-like profile it is a highly striking piece of lighting. A further unusual glass shade is the classical gas light shade that was lauded in the time of Queen Victoria. The period watched over the rise of gas lamps and the consequent increase in both number and artistic styles.
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