Scroll down for a brief history and description of lithophanes.
CooperSmith Costa Rica has developed a number of products using the 3D printing process to display magical lithophane images in a variety of ways. These products are designed to be customized using your favorite photos to create distinctly personalized gifts.
Bring us your best quality, favorite photograph and let us turn it into a gift that will be genuinely appreciated and remembered.
CooperSmith Costa Rica produces a variety of formats of personalized lithophanes, and in a variety of sizes. Our most popular items are our lampshades for table lamps, displaying up to four images on the lampshade, and table top night lights. Other favorites are our MagicImage key fobs and night lights.
Things To Know About Lithophanes
The original lithophane was artwork etched or molded in very thin translucent porcelain that could only be seen clearly when lit from behind.
The word “lithophane” derives from Greek “litho”, which is from “lithos” which means stone or rock, and “phainein” meaning “to cause to appear” or “to cause to appear suddenly”. From this we derive “light in stone” or to “appear in stone” as the three-dimensional image appears suddenly when lit with a light source from behind.
European lithophanes were first produced nearly at the same time in France, Germany, Prussia, and England in the late 1820s.
Many historians argue that the inspiration for the idea came originally from China nearly a thousand years before in the Tang Dynasty. According to the scholar R. L. Hobson, during the Ming Dynasty the Chinese produced bowls “as thin as paper” with secret decorations in them. Other potential precursors to the European lithophanes come from the Chinese Song Dynasty. Qingbai wares had translucency with carved and molded designs of flowers, fish, and birds. Japanese lithophane tea sets, referred to as “dragonware,” were popular for GI trading in Japan during World War II.
The earliest lithophanes were made by carving an image into wax, creating a plaster gypsum mold from the wax, and casting porcelain at 2000 degrees Celsius. Porcelain lithophanes would often crack from thermal stresses during this process. Finished lithophanes were typically 1.5 to 6 mm thick. These characteristics made lithophane production labor intensive, risky, and expensive. Common scenes focused on religion, portraits, literature, and artistic masterpieces.
Lithophanes have become easier to make with modern methods of manufacture. In the 1900s, the advent of CNC machining made it possible to produce lithophanes by carving the lithophanes from translucent, nonporous materials. This greatly decreased the risks and material waste associated with producing a lithophane. Today, the most common way to create lithophanes is by 3D printing them from plastic or resin. The 3D printing process can be quite tricky, but can result in exquisite lithophanes for significantly less labor and material cost than either casting or CNC machining.
Sources – Wikipedia.org and Lithophanemaker.com