Stained Glass Window Hanging

Stained glass is a type of glass in which the artist stains or paints the surface of a glass that is usually used in a window. The stained glass style of manufacturing has been widely used in many types of windows since the medieval times. As mentioned above, beautiful stained glass windows are still prominently seen in many churches, cathedrals, castles, old mansions and chapels, at many locations throughout Europe. Stained glass was basically used to depict saints, characters and scenes from the bible on the windows of cathedrals, churches and chapels. Conventional stained glass is made with the help of metallic salts combined with colors. The metallic oxides and salts give the glass a translucent feature and enables light to filter through it.

Stained glass can be classified into different types according to the process of its manufacture.

Types of Stained Glasses

• Cylinder Glass: The manufacture of the cylinder glass is considered to be rather difficult as it involves skillful glass blowing techniques. To form a cylinder glass, molten glass is taken from the melting pot on a blowing pipe. The molten ball of glass is then slowly yet skillfully blown into a cylinder. This cylinder is then flattened out into a sheet of glass.
• Crown Glass: The crown glass is a method of preparing stain glass, where the glass is partially blown into a ball and is then placed upon a wheel that resembles a potters wheel. The centrifugal force of wheel is used to flatten out the molten glass.
• Table Glass: The concept of table glass is pretty straight forward. The molten glass is poured out on metallic table that resembles a flat mold. The molten glass is straightened out using metallic rollers and is cooled down gradually.

Some of the other methods of making stained glasses are flashed glass and Victorian glass method. A common step, in blowing process of all the types of glasses, is that the glass is colored with the help of metallic oxides and salt. The following are some of the usual combination of salts and oxides that are used to manufacture stained glass.

• Copper Oxide: Copper oxide is added to molten glass to give it a green color. Different brands of copper oxides are used to give the glasses different shades of green.
• Cobalt: Cobalt is added to give the molten metal a blue color. In case of such coloring agents the volume of the agent is increased or reduced in order to increase or decrease the lightness of the glass.
• Gold: In the medieval times gold was added to the glass in order to make the glass red. Variable amounts of gold were used to derive multiple shades of red like vermilion and crimson.

Stained Glass Window Hangings

Stained glass window hangings are decorative ornaments that are made from different varieties of stained glasses. The stained glass that is used to manufacture such types of hanging ornaments, is light in weight and has a low density. Most of the times, it is a decorative piece that is hung near or next to the window. Many a times, small bells or small glass or metal pieces are attached to the hangings. The logic behind doing so is that when a gust of wind bows in through the open windows, it gently makes the hanging pieces chime to the ripple of air. In some cultures this chiming is said to soothe the human brain and fill it with positive energies.

As the demand for stained glass window hanging is slowly increasing, manufacturers have started coming up with highly innovative ideas. One of the most innovative stained glass window hanging, was the one that acted as candle stand. This window handing was actually a glass box that had stained glass surrounding the candle. The stained glass produced excellent effects of colorful lights when the candle was lit. Another type of stained glass window hanging that has come in vogue is the one that is shaped like a pendent.

Stained glass window hangings tend to make the room quite cheerful and also colorful. A certain amount of positive energy is certainly felt in the room where the stained glass window hangings are used.