daughter breaks, mommy pays

September 9, 2011 7:38 AM

Shopping help - Need to find replacement glass lamp shade

Well, daughter broke lampshade. Unable to find replacement. Heck, I don't even know what it is called beyond glass lampshade which returns a ton of results. I saw previous link but they do not have said shade.

Picture of shade

posted by jadepearl to shopping (11 answers total)

I'm not sure you'll be able to find an exact copy. Have you tried eBay? There are literally thousands of listings.
posted by Admiral Haddock at 7:50 AM on September 9, 2011

Is this a new fixture or an old one? I can't tell from the photo, but can you figure out the maker?
posted by Medieval Maven at 8:04 AM on September 9, 2011

If you've got a Habitat For Humanity Home Store near you they may have a lot of old glass lamp-whatevers for sale. If they don't have a match you may be able to find a different matching set that will work on the lamp.
posted by ghharr at 8:13 AM on September 9, 2011

Try Home Depot as well, I was there yesterday and saw many similar to that one
posted by bottlebrushtree at 8:24 AM on September 9, 2011

Admiral Haddock -- ebay was the first stop but I could not narrow it down beyond glass lamp shade.

Medieval Maven -- it is an old lamp that came with the house.

ghharr - tried the habitat store and those places are crapshoots for finding stuff.
posted by jadepearl at 8:26 AM on September 9, 2011

Try these guys?
posted by Admiral Haddock at 8:40 AM on September 9, 2011

I found this ribbed satin bell shade on Rejuvenation Lighting. It's not a perfect match, but might help you with search terms. This opal bell shade might be a better match for the finish.
posted by Squeak Attack at 8:47 AM on September 9, 2011

They are glass chandelier globes. If you take one to your local Home Depot, B&Q, etc. they will be able to sell you a replacement set in the right size. You are extremely unlikely to find a single replacement match, and so generally people replace them all at once to keep them matching.

Pro tip: This time, buy a spare. Today it's the daughter, in 20 years it's the grandchild.
posted by DarlingBri at 8:48 AM on September 9, 2011 [1 favorite]

I think what you're looking for is called a bowl or a bowl shade.

The material appears to be opalescent glass.

There are three kinds of glass known as opalescent. One is blue-tinged, semi-opaque or clear glass with milky opalescence in the center. The colour is produced by the slow cooling of the molten glass in those parts that are thick causing some crystallization inside the glass. This contemporary opalescent glass was first produced in the 1920s and 30s by companies in France such as Lalique, Sabino and Jobling.

(Source)

The sweeping design of the bowl looks art deco also, though it may of course be a reproduction. For comparison, here's a stunning art deco chandelier with opalescent glass bowls.

I think your first step is going to be working out whether this is an original (and thus probably irreplaceable) or a reproduction. Perhaps if you took some clearer photographs, an online community of glass collectors would be able to help you out?
posted by Georgina at 9:24 AM on September 9, 2011

Those are sometimes called diffusers.
posted by peagood at 11:56 AM on September 9, 2011

Thanks to all for the right keywords that was able to get me a replacement shade for my yes, authentic art deco lamp with opalescent swirl cup glass shade.
posted by jadepearl at 10:11 AM on September 15, 2011