Shining a light on Americana

By David Momphard
STAFF REPORTER
Thursday, May 26, 2005, Page 13

1. Yeh Ching-hung, right, listens to a Tiffany specialist on how the lamp shades are made. First, the pattern is sketched to a form and each segment is assigned a color code. PHOTOS COURTESY OF YEH CHING-HUNG

When Louis Comfort Tiffany first fashioned lamp shades from cut glass, his stated purpose was to bring good art to American homes.

Yeh Ching-hung (葉青弘) has the same goal, except he's more concerned with homes here in Taiwan.

As the owner of the Tiffany Lighting company on Xinyi East Road and the sole importer of Tiffany lamps to this country, Yeh hopes to popularize the uniquely US handicraft in a nation fixated on fluorescent fixtures. Given that Tiffany himself died considerably poorer than when he was born, Yeh has his work cut out for him.

Tiffany's name was no joke. He was born the eldest son of Charles Lewis Tiffany, the founder of Tiffany and Co Jewelers. From a young age, he knew that he wanted to study art rather than take the helm of his father's jewelry empire. He took up the brush and enjoyed success as a painter even in his early years, but sometime in the early1880s he began focusing on interior design.

Having up on an estate, Tiffany loved nature and his art reflected his love. His paintings, stained glass windows, partitions, and later his lamp shades, would nearly always have nature motifs in them; leaves, flowers and his favorite, dragonflies.

2. Each segment of every section of the shade is then traced to the correct color glass.

Tiffany stained glass windows and screens as the natural evolution of painting and a medium that could bring art into people's living rooms. Unlike wall-hangings, glass could spill colored light onto the floor, bringing a space alive. At first he worked with existing glass but soon began studying how to make his own and make it in bolder colors than had previously been possible. His own patented glass production methods would become known as Favrile.

3. The segments are individually ground to the exact size and shape. Because the artisans are essentially putting together a jigsaw puzzle, any variance from size or shape would render the piece useless.

Then 1885 a watershed event would occur. While designing lighting fixtures for the world's first wired theater, the Lyceum in New York, Tiffany was encouraged by Thomas Edison to create shades for table lamps. The job was such a success it had him designing interiors for many of the wealthiest homes in America and even in the White House.

4. The pieces are then wrapped in copper foil at the edges and cleaned.

Ever innovator, Tiffany was constantly at the furnace firing new colors and textures of glass. Even when many of his highly-skilled glass blowers would deem a particular experiment a failure, Tiffany would continue trying. The money he spent making new types of colored glass would eventually eat through much of his US$35 million inheritance. In 1913 he retired from the company he founded and died 20 years later.

Although Tiffany glass lamp shades were originally crafted exclusively in the US, several factories have been established in China, where both lower manufacturing costs and a higher-quality material are found.

5. Finally, the glass segments are fitted into the form and the copper foil is soldered together. Lamp shades are usually made in three sections before joining each section. A chemical patina is used to turn the silvery color of the solder to an older looking pewter tone.

The material is jade. Dug from the hills of Shenzhen, the opalescent white to dark green stone is cut and ground to pieces thin enough for light to pass through. These lamps have found an audience back in the US and in both China and Taiwan. Though the stone is more expensive to work with than glass, cheaper labor helps keep the lamps affordable.

"Many Taiwanese don't consider buying these kinds of lamps because of their price," Yeh said. "And because they'd rather spend the money redecorating in a few years' time. What they often don't understand is that these lamps are heirlooms that appreciate in value."

In 1998, Yeh pointed out, two lamps made by Tiffany himself sold for more than US$2 million. At appreciation rates like that, he said, it's a wonder there isn't a Tiffany lamp in every home in Taiwan.