Custom Tudor Style Quarry Windows
New Work
Materials: custom-cut glass, hand-painted stained glass, round 3/8” and 1/2” flat lead, wooden sashes
Six custom Tudor style windows designed and built by Nzilani for a residential client in San Francisco. These latticed quarry windows feature large octagonal pieces of clear textured machine rolled glass and small diamond-shaped green mouth blown glass, encased inside a thin border of red mouth blown glass. Together, these windows beautifully diffuse the incoming natural sunlight while providing added privacy from the outside. The client also requested that the largest of the six windows feature a custom heraldic shield in its center, painted by Nzilani’s master glass painter.
The client collaborated with Nzilani by providing reference material for the symbolic imagery of the heraldic shield. They brought photographs of other residential stained glass they admired, samples of the wall paper, curtains, marble countertops, and the soft rose paint present inside the residence. Based on this input from the client, a design depicting an interpretation of George Washington’s family crest set against a botanical bed of lush oak leaves was created. Ancient Brown, Teal Blue, Stencil Black, Fusemaster Rose, and Silver Stain Yellow pigments and stains were used in the glass painting, completed in the classical style. After each layer of pigment was applied, the shield was kiln fired to achieve the desired appearance.
As precision is paramount to geometric windows of this type, gauges were used to achieve consistency while cutting the octagonal and rectangular glass. This was done so the glass shapes were consistent from panel to panel, enhancing its balance and symmetry. A soft round 3/8” lead was used in the field, as this lead profile lends itself to the “old style” look of the panels. A 1/2” flat lead was used for the border. The panels were leaded over printed maps to guide the glaziers, and great attention was given to ensure every lead line was straight and every angle precisely cut. After the panels were soldered, puttied, and polished, steel support bars were soldered to the panel to provide structural support. The panels were glazed into custom wooden sashes in Nzilani’s studio and then transported to the residence, where they were installed.
