Lampshade
A lampshade is a fixture that envelops the light bulb to redirect the light it emits. The shade is often affixed onto a light fixture to reduce the intensity of the light to observers, shield the light from a harsh environment, or for decoration by altering the color or creating shadows.
Lampshades can be made out of a large variety of materials like paper, glass, fabric, stone, or any translucent material. Often conical or cylindrical in shape, lampshades can be found on floor, desk, tabletop, or suspended lamps. The term can also apply to the glass or other materials hung around many designs of ceiling lamp. Some lamp shades are also lined with a hard-backed opaque lining, often white or gold, to reflect as much light as possible through the top and bottom of the shade while blocking light from emitting through the walls of the shade itself. In other cases, the shade material is deliberately decorative so that upon illumination it may emphasize a display of color and light emitting through the shade surface itself.
History
In 1763, the réverbères, oil lamps with reflectors, began to be hung in Paris above the center of streets for illumination at night. The first public oil lamps in Milan dating from 1785 had a semi-spherical reflector above the flame that projected the light downwards, while another reflector, slightly concave and near the flame, directed the light laterally.In 1879, Joseph Swan and Thomas Edison independently developed the incandescent filament electric light bulb by building on research by Humphry Davy, De Moleyn and Heinrich Göbel. With the brighter lights, designers in the early 20th century focused on reducing the glare from electric lamps using lampshades.
To disguise the intense electric light, lampshades were used. Some were made by Tiffany in colored glass. The great advantage of the electric light bulb was the absence of flame and traces of combustion, thus avoiding all risks of intoxication, explosion or fire. In the beginning, the filament was made of carbonised vegetable fibres, then bamboo fibres and finally metal alloys until, in the early 20th century, the tungsten filament invented in 1904 became established.
Lampshade types
Modern lampshades can be classified by shape, by material, by fitter, or by function.Shades by shape
Lampshades are classified in four basic shapes: drum, empire, bell or coolie depending on their shape. A drum or cylinder shade typically features vertical sides, sometimes with a very slight incline where the top of the shade is slightly smaller than the bottom. A slightly greater incline produces a "floor" shade which is not far from the "true" drum profile. As the slope of the side of the shade increases, the design moves through the classic empire shade on towards the more pyramidal-style shape of a coolie shade.Beyond the basics, lampshade shapes also include square, cut-corner, hexagon, gallery, oval, or scalloped shapes. Square, rectangular and oval shades appear to have these shapes when viewed from above or below. This also includes hexagonal shades and cut-corner shades which appear like square or round shades with the "corners cut off" or indented. A shade with a gallery can be of any shape but has a distinct strip around the bottom of the shade.
Some of the lampshades are as follows:
- Rustic: simple elements like linen, cork, and cotton in muted earth tones complement rustic farmhouse or cottage interiors
- Traditional: often linen, paper shades, and silk shades inside pleated and box pleated shapes
- Modern: innovative shapes like drum, square, and cylinder
- Antique & Vintage Inspired: simulations of antique lamp shades mimic those of past eras, often using textures such as glass, fringe, and beads that are not generally found in current designs