Silk Empire Lampshades

The silk empire lampshade is one of the oldest lampshade designs, and can be considered the “workhorse” of all lampshade shapes. Traditionally, the silk empire is characterized by an opening at the top of the lampshade that is 1/2 the diameter of the opening the bottom of the lampshade. A more modern variation of the traditional silk empire is the modified, imperial or british empire, which appears to be an empire lampshade with the top 1/4 to 1/3 of the lampshade cut off. As with all silk lampshades, the silk empire lampshades are built on a frame where the top ring is connected to the bottom ring by a series of vertical wires, and the inside is lined with a fabric.