Glass Profile: Silver Staining

A Bit of Art History

Silver staining is what gave rise to the term "stained glass." According to P.E. Michelli:

"Silver stain was fired onto clear glass to produce a translucent yellow - or any colour between murky brown and deep amber. It was discovered around the beginning of the fourteenth century, apparently in France, and was used sparingly at first, and then very creatively to produce local contrasts on coloured glass."

Granted, I'm no art historian. But if you examine older stained glass, you'll see that there are relatively few colors - red, yellow, blue and green. This parallels the paintings and illuminated text of that time. In the Medieval era, the artistic emphasis of stained glass was placed on the painting and staining of relatively simple glass shapes. These were religious icons, made in glass to resemble their painted predecessors as closely as possible.


Silver staining was apparently easier to use than a yellow glass. Also, for the purposes of fine detail, staining gives more flexibility; multiple coatings and firings of the silver stain can enhance the color. In this way, different hues from beige to gold can be achieved on the same piece of glass. Silver staining was also used to turn blue glass into green glass.

Today

Modern silver staining is less common but may still be used for traditional works. There is the occasional contemporary piece, like this close-up of a window by Williams and Byrne.


I would argue that today, while styles of stained glass are much more diverse, there is generally more use of shapes, colors and textures of the glass itself. I don't know that I'd use the silver stain technique. I could simply purchase yellow glass, or plate some yellow glass behind the main layer. Still, it's a fun bit of history!