Tiffany lamps are generally quite hardy overall, being constructed from lots of small pieces reinforced with lead-coated foil. However, when someone fell on this one at a party, it literally split apart at the seams. The tiny, rectangular border design in lots of different colours made this a piece worth saving.

The owner sent me some photos of the now flat panels and I knew that I could restore it to its former glory. A flat-sided lampshade is usually easier to work on as any broken pieces can be removed more straightforwardly.

The main issues with this lamp repair were to flatten the bent areas, remove and replace the leaded foil at the corners and re-solder it all together. There is always more work involved than I anticipate, but pretty soon the repairs to the foil were effected and the dented side was flattened ready for reassembly. Extra solder was added under the square vase cap to ensure the whole shade was solid once more.

A good clean inside and out finished the job and the owner took it back home with a smile on his face. He plans to keep it out of the way next time he has a party though…