NEW YORK — The use of stained glass windows in churches to illustrate stories from the Bible dates back as far as the 10th century. Pictorial lessons for the masses were key as literacy rates in medieval Europe were poor. These colorful windows typically depicted Jesus, angels, and religious figures amid symbolic and venerated motifs signifying concepts such as rebirth, immortality, truth, charity, love, and purity. The practice of wealthy donors funding stained glass windows has a long history as well, and in the 19th century, patrons turned to Tiffany Studios when they wanted to make a statement while glorifying their house of worship.

A fine example of the form is a 1917 Tiffany Studios memorial window, Boy Christ in the Temple. It was removed from St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church in Meriden, Connecticut and much later brought $82,500 plus the buyer’s premium in October 2022 at Freeman’s Hindman. Designed by Tiffany glass artist Frederick Wilson, this window was inscribed “To the Glory of God and in Memory of” and “George Munson Curtis 1857 – 1915.”

In 1889, Louis Comfort Tiffany received so many commissions from churches he formed an ecclesiastical department in his namesake art glass and decorating company, known for its mastery of stained glass. As it happens, stained glass is a form of leaded glass, and Tiffany developed several types of leaded glass techniques for use in his windows. Prominent churches from the greater New York-Philadelphia area and as far away as California commissioned large-scale windows from Tiffany’s artisans.

While Tiffany produced stained glass windows with secular themes, demand from churches, synagogues, and mausoleums prompted the creation of many windows with religious motifs. “In our experience, people collect the ecclesiastical windows because of their faith, as investment opportunities, and to preserve their history,” said John Fontaine, CEO and auctioneer at Fontaine’s Auction Gallery in Pittsfield, Massachusetts. “Around the 1900s, many churches commissioned Tiffany Studios to design and manufacture windows. Today, the majority of Tiffany windows from churches end up in private hands or auctions due to the churches’ need for additional funding, or because they have closed. In some cases, the windows are worth more than the church’s real estate itself, and some churches can’t sustain the insurance expense, liability, or maintenance of the windows.”

Fontaine’s has sold more than 40 Tiffany windows, achieving the highest price for a set of eight Beatitudes windows that brought $295,000 plus the buyer’s premium in September 2016. Its highest price for an individual window was the circa-1898 Jesus in a Field of Lilies, which realized $190,000 plus the buyer’s premium in January 2023. This window incorporated several types of glass, including leaded and plated. Designed to make a commanding presence, this window measures 9ft 11in by 7ft 5in. “The proportions, placements, and glass selection imbue the window with a spacious and realistic quality that brings it to life while maintaining the supernatural quality that Jesus Christ represents,” Fontaine said. “The radiant and naturalistic sunset sky of orange, yellow, and blue above Jesus and the field of yellow and white lilies is embellished with ‘ripple’ and ‘confetti’ glass, which are highlighted in many of Tiffany Studios’ high-end works.”

The most important attribute of these windows is the landscape surrounding the figure, whether it includes flowers, mountains, rivers, trees, or sunsets, Fontaine explained. While subjective to personal taste, there are colors that are obvious favorites: blues, purples, and reds. “Tiffany offered more than just color in its glass,” he added, noting that the use of mottled, drapery, confetti, striated, dichroic, and plated glass are important attributes buyers and collectors look for when evaluating a potential purchase.

Condition is of course important, but collectors will tolerate modest and limited flaws, such as small amounts of hairline cracks scattered throughout the window. “There is a certain amount of damage acceptable if it’s spread over the entire window rather than concentrated in a certain area,” Fontaine said, also noting that most buyers display these windows inside their homes on an interior wall with a backlight behind them: “I would approximate that less than 15% of the windows we sell get put on exterior walls.”

Though most have religious imagery, these windows are coveted regardless because they come from Tiffany Studios. “The auction market for anything Tiffany is continuing its strong run,” Fontaine said. “Windows are rare and don’t come up for sale nearly as often as other Tiffany items. The average price for a quality religious Tiffany window is less than $100,000. Most of the windows we sell go to private buyers in the United States, and they are the most competitive bidders.”

Sets of windows are scarcer still, and even more desirable. A group of seven Tiffany Studios windows of angels representing seven churches mentioned in the book of Revelation in the Bible attained $575,000 plus the buyer’s premium in November 2020 at Freeman’s Hindman. These windows, each 96 ½in tall, retained their original title panels identifying them as Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamos, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, and Laodicea.

Tiffany Studios’ secular windows also bring robust prices, such as a sunset landscape window from 1915 that earned $230,000 plus the buyer’s premium in March 2023 at Cottone Auctions. Both filtering and drawing in light, the translucent glass adds depth to the scene.

As most were made for large churches and synagogues, these windows are usually massive. Size definitely plays a role in the collectibility of a Tiffany Studios window, as the average collector does not have a mansion-sized house to be able to display these windows.

“Bigger is not always better with these windows, and once they get over a certain height, the buyer pool decreases due to space limitations,” Fontaine said. “Many of the windows we sell to buyers that will display them at home are around seven feet high or less. Our buyers would rather have a slightly smaller window with a more desirable scene and color palette.”

A good example of this phenomenon is Gabriel Blowing His Horn, a window which made $85,000 plus the buyer’s premium in September 2021 at Fontaine’s Auction Gallery. This 1916 window measures 51½ by 49in (framed) and boasts exquisite imagery as well as an accessible size. “Gabriel Blowing His Horn is a powerhouse of vibrant colors and is heavily embellished with confetti, plated, and mottled glass,” he said. “Tiffany’s most desired and valuable window subjects are landscapes and florals, and this window displays all of the high-end craftsmanship while bringing forward a supernatural figure.”

Tiffany was capable of tackling all forms of church window, including the detailed and elaborate one known as the rose window due to its shape. Around 1905, the firm created a pair of rose windows for St. Paul’s Presbyterian, a historic black church in West Philadelphia. One had a dove at its center, and the other had a crown. Later sold separately, each window attained $100,000 plus the buyer’s premium in May 2023 at Freeman’s Hindman. They are the only Tiffany Studios rose windows offered on the LiveAuctioneers platform, and possibly the only ones ever brought to auction. The windows were originally installed when the church was St. Paul’s Presbyterian, built in 1901. Noted Philadelphia department store magnate John Wanamaker is thought to have personally commissioned the windows, as his name is on Tiffany’s commission records for St. Paul’s.

In an interview with the Philadelphia Inquirer newspaper just before the sale, Tim Andreadis, Freeman’s head of design, said, “To find another Tiffany rose, let alone two — it’s almost unheard of,” adding that he doubted another example would be auctioned “in our lifetime.”

Offering collectors the appeal of church window provenance but with secular subject matter was a Tiffany transom window that sold for $10,000 plus the buyer’s premium at Heritage Auctions in November 2019. The window, featuring glass in Monet-like swirls of blue and green, was also an appealing size, at 37-¼ by 71-1/2in. It was commissioned in 1922 by the Sanctuary of the First Presbyterian Church of Santa Monica, California.

Tiffany Studios stained glass windows have long retained their appeal, and consistently rank among the most sought-after artifacts from the Art Nouveau era. Featuring quality craftsmanship, vibrant colors, and elegant design, they continue to be showstoppers, whether they are beautifying a church, a museum, or a home.