Encyclopedia Dubuque
"Encyclopedia Dubuque is the online authority for all things Dubuque, written by the people who know the city best.”
Marshall Cohen—researcher and producer, CNN
Affiliated with the Local History Network of the State Historical Society of Iowa, and the Iowa Museum Association.
STAINED GLASS
STAINED GLASS. "Stained glass" can refer to the material of colored glass or the craft of working with it. Throughout its thousand-year history, the term has been applied almost exclusively to the windows of churches, cathedrals, chapels, and other important buildings.
As a material stained glass is glass that has been colored by adding metallic salts during its manufacture. The colored glass is crafted into stained glass windows in which small pieces of glass are arranged to form patterns or pictures, held together (traditionally) by strips of lead and supported by a rigid frame. Painted details and yellow stain are often used to enhance the design. The term stained glass is also applied to windows in which the colors have been painted onto the glass and then fused to the glass in a kiln.
Many large windows have withstood time and remained intact since the late Middle Ages. In Western Europe the purpose of a stained glass window is not to allow those within a building to see the world outside or even to admit light but rather to control it. Stained glass windows have been described as 'illuminated wall decorations'.
The design of a window may be non-figurative or figurative; incorporate narratives from the Bible, history, or literature; represent saints or patrons, or use symbolic motifs. Windows within a building may be thematic: a church - episodes from the life of Christ; a college hall - figures representing the arts and sciences; professional offices including doctors or lawyers with related themes; or a home - flora, fauna, or landscape.
In 1981 a census of strained glass windows in the United States came to Dubuque. One of the goals was to end the destruction of stained glass windows. Threats included vandalism, destruction during the demolition of the building, or time. Acids in the air attacked the windows and the weight of the glass often caused them to buckle after fifty or sixty years. A second goal was to encourage research on American stained glass manufactured between 1840 and 1940. Researchers for the census stated that at least twelve churches in Dubuque had stained glass made between those years.
See: KEY CITY DECORATIVE GLASS WORKS
