March 31, 2019 Comments Off on Chandelier nostalgia, once an opulent symbol of status and wealth Views: 918 Looking Back, Nostalgia

Chandelier nostalgia, once an opulent symbol of status and wealth

There is an early 19th-century French cut-glass and ormolu chandelier in the Green Room of the White House. Equally astonishing is an antique chandelier with candles found in the Portuguese Synagogue in Amsterdam. Or one of the largest of them all, the chandelier at the Al Ameen Mosque in Muscat, the port capital of Omen.

The early 19th-century French cut-glass and ormolu chandelier in the Green Room of the White House, Washington, D.C.

Since chandeliers production began in the world, this most luxurious of all decorative items was set to be a symbol of achievement, wealth and high societal status.

An antique chandelier with candles in Amsterdam’s Portuguese Synagogue, Photo by
Massimo Catarinella, CC BY-SA 3.0

The word ‘chandelier’ derived from the Old French word chandelier, itself a variation from the Latin candelabrum which denotes candle holder. A word that seemed fit for the early chandelier design, which came with a very basic wooden platform upon which animal fat candles were being affixed. Hung to a suitable height, ropes or chains were used to secure the chandelier in place.

Luxury at its finest. Candelabra used for state occasions at the Belgian court. Notice the lavish chandelier in the background. Photo probably from 1960, the courtesy of Nationaal Archief in Brussels.

Chandelier “craving” first began in Europe somewhere at the end of the 9th-century and it was the cost of good quality candles that made them an exclusive luxury interior asset. The early chandeliers adorned the ceilings of churches, castles, forts and homes of royals, of course.

Illustration of a medieval chandelier from King René’s Tournament Book, 1460

By the 15th-century, this type of luxury lighting counted as a quintessential element of all noble households. That is when more elaborate chandeliers also began to appear, fashioned on ring and crown designs and crafted from rock crystal–a translucent type of quartz.

Working class families who could not afford an opulent-looking chandelier in their homes opted for more simple chandelier designs, made of wood, wrought iron and other less attractive materials such as tin.

A look at the Throne Room in the Buckingham Palace, London, 1914

Bohemian and Venetian glassmakers, notably, manufactured the best glass chandeliers. They were the bringers of the dawn of the golden age of the chandelier before the innovations of gas lighting and electricity devalued chandeliers as status symbols.

Bohemian-styled chandeliers in particular rose to prominence around Europe. These old masters of the craft created such fine pieces which radiated magnificent light and which made already glamorous rooms look even more glamorous.

Dazzling gold. At the Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg, Russia, Photo by
Richard Mortel from Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, CC BY 2.0

Italian glass factories quickly tried to outcompete the Bohemian chandelier production, dedicating tremendous efforts to reinvent the art of light making.

A key change in glass manufacturing came with the introduction of the lead crystal, able to obtain at a cheaper price, and which gave way to the crystal chandelier. Softer than Venetian glass, the lead crystal was more dazzling, more translucent, and quite easy to bend and shape.

Stunning chandelier work at the Hall of Mirrors, Palace of Versailles, France, Photo by Myrabella, CC BY-SA 3.0

A famous name to recall from the history of chandelier-making, amongst others, is Daniel Swarovski. The Czech-born Austrian glass cutter included in his work cut stones production for ornate crystal chandeliers. He was born in 1862, about the time gasoliers also began to appear. This new branch of ceiling fixtures slowly started to replace candles as major source of light.

The Ceremonial Hall (Muayede Salonu) in Dolmabahçe Palace, in Istanbul, Turkey, with the chandelier said to have been given by Queen Victoria, Photo by Gryffindor, CC BY-SA 4.0

Then normally, as the world was ushered in the new era of electricity, it was the dawn of electric-only chandeliers, some of which nicely fitted with bulbs that imitated the flame of a candle. The widespread introduction of gas and electricity reduced chandeliers to merely a room decoration, however.

Housemaid cleaning chandelier in early-20th century Sweden.

Some of the world’s most famous venues today where one can see the finest of chandelier work from history includes Istanbul’s famed Dolmabahçe Palace, where the deathbed of Atatürk, the founder of modern Turkey, can also be seen. The world’s largest English Glass chandelier there, is fitted with astonishing 750 lamps and weights 4.5 tons.

The Palace of Versailles, which was France’s Royal residence for a century before the Revolution, also has its fair share of breath-taking chandeliers. The best pieces can be seen in the famed Hall of Mirrors, where the Treaty of Versailles was signed at the closure of World War I.