KTKA

The First Presbyterian Church of Topeka houses a unique treasure, Tiffany stained glass windows.

Church member and tour guide RayAnn Burdiek explains how one window depicts the Baptism of Christ. She says the windows are high-quality pieces of art.

They were produced exclusively in the Tiffany studios of New York, she said.

Louis Comfort Tiffany was renowned for his Art Nouveau style stained glass. Instead of applying paint or enamel to the surface of glass, Tiffany embedded color into glass itself.

"He experimented with chemicals for his colors, using for instance cobolt for blue, manganese for violet, and iron and gold for green," RayAnn said. "These colors will not fade. They will not peel."

The church's windows include scenes from the Bible. They also include the grand Ascension window above the balcony and jeweled windows featuring rough-cut three dimensional cabochons.

The windows were a gift from a wealthy member of the church who wanted to memorialize her husband. So, she called Tiffany.

"Tiffany spent about ten days here. He wanted to be sure that the windows that he produced for this church fit the Gothic Style of the church."

The windows were installed in 1911 for about $14,000. Today, that would amount to about $300,000.

Tiffany cared about every detail. And visitors are welcome to see them at the church, 817 SW Harrison.

The ripples and creases in the glass were produced by pouring hot liquid glass into trays and tilting the trays when the liquid began to set up.

Tiffany was also known for his use of natural light. In this window of Christ and Nicodemus the light from outside seems to make the lantern glow. The lantern's light appears to reflect off both figures. The optical effect is created through glass texture, color and thickness.

Tiffany began as a painter. With his glassmaking he developed more than 5,000 glass colors and textures, allowing him the freedom and spontaneity to paint with glass, creating a style of stained glass uniquely Tiffany.