The term stained glass can refer to coloured
glass as a material or to works created from it. Throughout its thousand-year history, the term has been applied almost exclusively to the windows of churches and other significant religious buildings. Although traditionally made in flat panels and used as windows, the creations of modern stained glass artists also include three-dimensional structures and
sculpture. Modern vernacular usage has often extended the term "stained glass" to include domestic
leadlight and
objets d'art created from
came glasswork exemplified in the famous lamps of
Louis Comfort Tiffany.