Stained Glass Terminology

Stained glass:: "Stained glass" can be either a specific or general term depending upon the context (note that the term is "stained glass", not "stain glass"). In general, the term refers to any decorative glass work, that can be either clear or colored, built using any manner of techniques, and used in any manner of ways from windows to lampshades to napkin holders. This is the term that is best used when referring to any decorative glass installations or objects.
The literal term "stained glass" refers more to a piece of glass or a window that has been painted or stained using metallic and mineral oxides to alter the base glass. These pieces are most often fired in a kiln to fuse the paints and stains to the surface of the glass.
The general term "stained glass" is much more prevalent and accepted among laypersons, whereas professionals tend to use more specific terminology to distinguish what they are referring to in conversations with each other.
Leaded glass: You need to be careful with this term. When I use the term "leaded glass", I am referring to any window that is multiple pieces of glass held together with lead channels or "came". The joining came, however, may be zinc, or less often copper or brass. I will often distinguish these by calling the piece a "zinced panel", but most people would not know the difference.
Contrary to popular belief, "leaded glass" does not refer specifically to a window that is composed entirely of beveled or faceted pieces of clear glass. This is a common misuse of the term due to the term lead crystal, which is something else entirely. Beveled glass is common plate glass that has a beveled edge ground onto it. The lead content of the glass is no higher than your common window glass. A beveled glass window may also be a "leaded glass" panel, but a "leaded glass" window may not necessarily be a beveled panel. Due to this confusion, I generally don't use this term unless I know the person I am talking with fully understands what I am referring to.
Beveled glass:: Often improperly referred to as "leaded glass", as mentioned above, it refers to a piece of glass or a window composed entirely of beveled pieces of glass. I tend to stick to the terms "stained glass" and "beveled glass" to alleviate a bit of the confusion outlined under the "leaded glass" definition
Tiffany window:: A window built and/or designed by Tiffany Studios specifically. The only time I use this term is if I know the window is an authentic Tiffany Studios window.
Tiffany style (window or lampshade): A great marketing gimmick. Louis Comfort Tiffany developed a technique for creating stained glass works known as the "copper foil technique". Marketing firms recognize the sales potential of the name Tiffany and use the term "Tiffany" or "Tiffany style" to refer to anything made using the copper foil technique. These pieces most often have nothing whatsoever to do with Tiffany Studios, and are quite often ugly. Additionally, there are patterns for replicating designs produced by Tiffany Studios during the late 19th and early 20th centuries, but the general design is as far as the comparison can go. I do not use the term because I believe it to be deceiving.
Fused glass: Fused, slumped, or kiln-formed glass has become popular over the last 20 years. It refers to pieces of glass that have been melted together with each other, or fused. A "stained glass" piece may incorporate, or be entirely composed of fused glass. There is some really innovative and striking fused glass being produced by artists today.
Glass Terminology
Cathedral glass: Cathedral glass is a clear or transparent color. Cathedral glasses are composed of clear glass with colorants added. Compare them to adding dye to a glass of water.
Opalescent glass: Opalescent glass is a glass that incorporates white, or opal glass, into the color mix. An opalescent blue is blue glass that is not entirely transparent. Compare this to adding dye to a glass of milk. This is an American innovation and is extremely rare in stained glass dating before the late 1800's
Streaky glass: Streakies are glasses that have streaks of different colors in the same sheet, or may be a cathedral color with streaks of opal mixed in.

The glass on the left is a cathedral blue. The center sample is an opalescent blue. The sample on the right is a streaky blue.
Color, density, & texture: Every sheet of glass has color, density and texture. The color is obvious.

The density generally refers to the amount of opal present in the glass and can range from slightly milky to completely opaque.

The texture of the glass is imprinted when the glass is pressed through the rollers and made into sheets. The roller texture is transferred to the formed sheet. Every manufacture has its own proprietary textures like granite and ripple. Some manufacturers have trademarked their textures such as Spectrum Glass Company's Waterglass or Baroque lines
Antique glass: Antique glass is not necessarily old. The term refers to the method in which the glass was produced. If the sheet of glass was hand made, rather than machine rolled, then it is an "antique glass".

Full antique
This is a glass that is fully hand made. They tend to be rather expensive, but their optical quality is crystaline and pure.

New antique
This is an interesting term. This is a glass that is machine made, but manipulated by hand to take on certain characteristics of full antique glass but at a reduced price.
Flashed Glass: This is a specialty glass that has a primary base color (usually clear) with an extremely thin and intense layer of color on one surface. This allows you to etch away the thin color for special effects. Most flashed glass is hand made and all of it is expensive.
Art Glass: A very loose term that is used to imply that a particular type of glass, or piece of work, is of higher artistic merit than a machine made or mass produced item. This term was used as early as 1900. There were marketing gimmicks back then too.
Other Terms
Came: An H or U shaped channel used to hold pieces of glass together in a stained glass window. These can be lead, zinc, brass, or copper. Be careful identifying these as zinc came might be copper plated, etcetera.
Patina: A chemical applied to a metal came or solder joint to change its color. For example, a solder joint may have copper patina applied to obtain a copper finish on the solder.
Cement: Cement is the term used by stained glass artisans to refer to the grout used to seal a panel built with came. All came work must be cemented. Some hacks skip this process because it is stinky and extremely messy but their work will fall apart within a very short time.
Panel: A term used to refer to a stained glass window. The entire piece is the panel.
Copper Foil Method: Often referred to as the "Tiffany technique", this is a method developed in the late 1800's for creating stained glass windows and lampshades. Please read my "What's the Difference" piece for more clarification and commentary on this term and how this technique differs from the traditional lead came technique.
What's the Difference? Lead Came vs. Copper Foil: Just about everybody knows someone or has a friend who "does stained glass". So, what is the difference between what they do and the work I do at Glassworks Studio? And, what should you consider when selecting an artist for your stained glass project? There are many answers to these questions and the explanations can be lengthy, but I will attempt to cover a few of them here.

The primary answer will require a bit of stained glass terminology. There are two basic techniques for creating stained glass windows; the Lead Came technique, and the Copper Foil technique.

The Lead came technique is the traditional method that was developed as the art form became prominent in 12th and 13th century European cathedrals. This method involves holding pieces of glass together in a network of lead H-shaped channels. The channels are then soldered together where they intersect, and the window is cemented (or grouted) to clean and seal the glass into the lead, strengthen the panels, and render them watertight (see illustration A).

The Copper Foil technique was developed in the late 1800's by Louis Comfort Tiffany (thus, windows made with this technique are often referred to as "Tiffany style", even thought they often bear little or no resemblance to actual Tiffany Studios work). This method involves wrapping the edge of each piece of glass with a copper foil tape. The pieces are then laid in place and the foil tape is soldered to hold the pieces together (see illustration B). The panel is then cleaned and a chemical patina can be applied to the solder seams to darken them down.

Now, each method has its pros and cons. The Copper Foil method is very well suited for small, irregularly shaped, and three-dimensional projects (like lamp shades and sun catchers). The finished seams will always vary in width as the thickness of the glass changes. The narrowness of the seams and smoothness of the soldered lines are reflections of the artists skill and experience. This is a good method for beginners because you can compensate for glass-cutting inaccuracies by filling the gaps between your glass pieces with solder. Furthermore, soldering is easier to learn because iron temperature is less critical. And lastly, the extremely messy process of cementing is not necessary.

The Lead Came method requires considerably more skill in glass cutting, as accuracy is critical. Soldering the lead channels together requires practice in order to get an aesthetically pleasing joint and to avoid melting the lead channels. The panel then must be cemented after it is built in order to clean it and give it strength. The finished product is decidedly different from a Copper Foiled piece. Every piece of glass in a leaded panel is separated by a 1/16" strip of soft lead. This provides a positive cushion between each piece of glass during the considerable expansion and contraction that can occur in a large stained glass panel. A copper foiled panel is extremely rigid and the pieces are often very tightly placed so that they do not have room to expand or flex during handling and, consequently, they break. Most significantly, however, the lead lines in a lead came panel are all exactly the same width and height, giving the panel a much tidier appearance. Perfectly straight solder lines simply cannot be achieved with copper foil no matter how good the artist is. A leaded panel is ultimately a much nicer looking final product (see comparison photos).

At Glassworks Studio, I do primarily lead came work. The vast majority of people who "do stained glass" only know how to do the copper foil method. You should decide what method you want for your project and be absolutely sure that your artist is working in the method you want so that you are happy with the end result.

Stained Glass Terminology

Window Terminology

Glass Terminology

Other Terms