Lamp of the Week: Chain Mail Lantern

 

One of the more unusual hanging fixtures designed by Tiffany Studios is the Chain Mail Lantern. The look of the fixture is equally Moorish, Medieval, and Modern. The lantern itself is 9" wide and has 8 rows of chain mail. The fixture is shown at 33" in length, and can be made longer with the addition of more chain. The minimum length of the fixture is 25". We can create Chain Mail with any color of glass. The example shown was created as a showroom example and is now in a private residence.

Each individual piece of chain mail is created by hand, in a technique that Irwin refers to as "weaving with glass and metal". Starting with a small copper framework, which we had made to Tiffany's original specifications, a piece of hand cut glass is encased within the square. During the process, the small metal loops that tie one square to the next are incorporated. As the squares are attached to one another, a "metal fabric" is created that forms the decorative curtain of the lantern.