Stained Glass Wall Sconces and Ceiling Lights in Tiffany Style

A Tiffany-style stained glass sconce or ceiling light is made like a Tiffany lamp shade: cut colored glass wrapped in copper foil and soldered, or set in lead strips. Choose by where the light hangs and how much light you need, ask the seller for the weight and size, and check every panel for cracks before you buy.

How is a stained glass light made?

A stained glass light is built in one of two ways. The Neustadt Collection of Tiffany Glass describes the Tiffany method: the edges of each piece of glass were “wrapped in thin strips of copper foil,” then soldered, and a bronze or gold patina was applied to the solder lines.

Older stained glass windows were built differently. The V&A explains that window makers set each piece into “H-shaped strips of lead, called cames.” The Corning Museum of Glass defines leaded glass the same way: flat pieces held together by lead or zinc cames.

Either can make a good fixture. What matters on a used one is that the joints are sound.

Stained glass wall sconces

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What did Tiffany sconces and chandeliers look like?

Museum pieces show the range. The Metropolitan Museum’s chandelier of about 1900 to 1910, designed by Louis C. Tiffany, is leaded opalescent glass, 19 1/8 inches tall and 20 1/2 inches across, with twelve golden shades Tiffany called “blossom globes.” The Met also holds Tiffany Studios wall sconces of about 1910, given by the same donors, glass and bronze, 19 1/8 inches tall and under 5 inches across.

The Philadelphia Museum of Art’s Tiffany Studios chandelier of about 1905 carries a grape trellis pattern that the museum says “probably was created by Clara Driscoll,” the designer also credited with the Dragonfly lamp.

Those pieces are museum objects. A Tiffany-style light sold today borrows the look; the identification guide explains how specialists tell an original from a reproduction.

Sconce, pendant or flush mount: which suits the room?

• Wall sconces give a soft, colored glow in a hallway, on a stair or beside a bed. Plug-in versions need no wiring work; the wall sconce guide explains plug-in and hardwired types.
• Pendants hang a single leaded shade over a dining table, a kitchen island or a game table.
• Flush and semi-flush mounts keep the glass close to the ceiling in a hallway or a low room. The flush mount guide covers what to measure.
• Chandeliers with several small shades suit a large room with a high ceiling.

Colored glass lets less light through than clear or frosted glass, so a stained glass light works best as accent or mood light, with a brighter lamp nearby for reading. For a bathroom, check the damp rating first, as the bathroom and vanity light guide explains.

Tiffany-style hanging lamps and pendants

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Will the ceiling hold a stained glass light?

A stained glass ceiling light’s glass and metal add up. EC&M explains that under NEC Section 314.27 a ceiling box must support “a luminaire weighing a minimum of 50 lb,” and a heavier fixture needs separate support unless the box is listed for the weight. Ask the seller for the weight, and give it to the electrician who fits the light.

What should you check on a used stained glass hanging light?

A light that hangs or mounts on a wall carries its glass on a few metal parts, so check those as closely as the glass:

1. The fitter, chain and canopy. On a pendant, look at the metal ring or cap at the top of the shade, every link of the chain or the rod, and the canopy that covers the ceiling box. Rust, a bent ring or an opened link is worth a question.
2. The sconce backplate. It should be flat, with its mounting holes intact, and wide enough to cover the wall box.
3. Cracks and loose joints. Hold the shade up to a light and look at every panel, then press gently near the rim. Solder or lead that flexes or rattles needs a repairer, and a missing piece in a patterned shade is hard to match.
4. Lead. The Virginia Department of Health lists “came and solder used in making stained glass” among sources of lead. Wash your hands after handling or cleaning a shade.

Art deco and leaded glass sconces

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For table and floor lamps in the same style, see the Tiffany-style lamp guide, and for replacement shades, the Tiffany lamp shade guide. Back to the art deco lighting guide.