Slag Glass Lamp Handel inspired 1920's - Another PERFECT restoration projects

  This quality brass and white metal frame reflects some of the design elements used by Handel lighting in the 1920’s. Shown in the decorative metal skirt filigree.  You can see the elements of the craftsman era using elbow arm tree branches as in a forest of tree’s reaching for the sky.  Some would also attribute this slag glass shade with a little Art Nouveau lighting style.  The quality of this shade is expressed by the use of solid brass rod work on top of all the white metal work.  When you see this type of brass rod work its only on the upper tier of slag glass lamps.  I have seen many identical lamps made with and without the use of this rod work and most likely was an extra expense when purchasing the lamps.

    The owner “Tanya” emailed pictures expressing the metal work and glass work.  By phone and emails I assured her my lamp restoration skills could not hide some of the visual damages but that I would blend the new work into the original work.  Most if not all my metal work is only performed on the interior to avoid visual repairs to the exterior paints and or plating.  In most cases just leaving very fine hairline cracks.  Structurally on the interior of tears and cracks I add copper or tin bridge work over the cracks.   

     What you can’t see in the pictures at the start was that the frame was twisted about 2″ out of square.  To correct this issue all the glass needed to be removed from the shade.  Removing and documenting the exact location of each piece allows me to straighten and square the frame without damaging additional glass.  Squaring a frame or (relaxing the metal) back to its original shape takes about two days.   My method involves working on the bench with a sheet of plywood, wood blocking and a heat gun.  It also involves using a threaded rod  keeping the center of the shade mounted to the sheet of plywood without moving as I adjust the blocking every few hours.  My two most concerns with Tanya’s slag glass lamp repair was the crippled post rod and best matching the three color pink sky.   I stress conservation “saving” as much of the original materials when performing my work before substitution of materials.  In this case because the corner brass rod was so twisted it was best to extract the rod reducing additional metal damage in the repair process.   This also allowed me to correct the white metal post damage without complications.  The second concern best matching the slag glass color was because many if not all multi pink mixes have been discontinued over the past 40 years.  Pinks in particular because of the cost of gold used in making pink mixes.  Luckily I was able to pull a panel from stock to work from.  Blending the old slag glass skirt color with the two new panels.