Stained glass

Stained glass is glass coloured by adding metallic salts when it is made. The coloured glass is made into stained glass windows. Small pieces of glass are arranged to form patterns or pictures. The glass is held together  by strips of lead and supported by a rigid frame.

Painted details and yellow stain are often used to improve the design. The term stained glass is also applied to windows in which the colours have been painted onto the glass and then fused to the glass in a kiln.

Stained glass is much used in Christian art but other themes are not rare.Sarah Brown 1994. Stained glass: an illustrated history. Bracken Books.  It is still popular today, and often called art glass.Lawrence Lee, George Seddon & Francis Stephens 1976. Stained glass. Mitchell Beazley.  It is often used in luxury homes and commercial buildings.Features of stained glass glazing of a private house

Some colours are added to stained glass by the salts of:
 Copper: metal gives dark red glass
 Gold: metal in tiny amounts (0.001%) produces ruby red glass
 Silver, usually silver nitrate, gives range of red to yellow colours
 Cobalt: brilliant blue
 Manganese dioxide: green
 Iron(II) oxide: blue-green
 Chromium: dark green

 References 

Category:Glass
Category:Art
Category:Architectural elements