The term stained glass refers either to the material of coloured glass or
to the art and craft of working with it.
As a material the term generally refers to glass that has been coloured
by adding metallic salts during its manufacture. Painted details and yellow
stain are often used to enhance the design. The term is also applied to
windows in which all the colours have been painted onto the glass and then
annealed in a furnace.
Stained glass, as an art and a craft, requires the artistic skill to conceive
the design, and the engineering skills necessary to assemble the decorative
piece, traditionally a window, so that it is capable of supporting its own
weight and surviving the elements.
Although usually set into windows, the purpose of stained glass is not to
allow those within a building to see out or even primarily to admit light
but rather to control it. For this reason stained glass windows have been
described as 'illuminated wall decorations'.
The design of a window may be non-figurative or figurative. It may incorporate
narratives drawn from the Bible, history or literature, or represent saints
or patrons. It may have symbolic motifs, in particular armorial. Windows
within a building may be thematic, for example: within a church - episodes
from the life of Christ; within a parliament building - shields of the constituencies;
within a college hall - figures representing the arts and sciences.
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