08/12/2026
Some designs, like this Tiffany Studios ‘Grape’ lampshade, called for sinuous lines to capture organic shapes. Glass naturally breaks in a straight line, so it took specialized tools and tremendous skill for Tiffany’s glass cutters to create these irregularly shaped pieces, some of which are quite small or feature delicate points.
🔗 Learn more about how Tiffany shades were made. Link in bio.
🍇’Grape’ Library Lamp
Created by Tiffany Studios under the artistic direction of Louis C. Tiffany (1848–1933)
Made in New York around 1905
Glass, cut and assembled; bronze, cast and patinated
📷 Lamp and glass photos: David Schlegel
📷 Glass cutters at Tiffany’s studios, 1898. From the January 1899 edition of ‘The Cosmopolitan’ magazine.
📷 Susan Tomlin, conservator at The Neustadt, demonstrating glass cutting and grozing using modern opalescent glass.
