After real candles, chandeliers are probably the most romantic way to light up a room, though they were invented for a more practical purpose. In medieval times, massive, wheel-shaped iron fixtures were the most efficient way to illuminate high-ceilinged, gloomy halls and cathedrals. Over time, the pieces became as decorative as they were functional. Their most elaborate interpretations, of course, were in the Baroque era, when monumental fixtures of gold or silver, rock crystal or carved gilded wood formed monumental fixtures that were the centerpieces in already-lavish interiors. When the English developed leaded glass, it proved the perfect material to be cut into faceted teardrops to hang on the fixtures designed for interiors by the likes of William Kent and Robert Adam. And on the European continent, cut crystal by companies like Baccarat and Lobmeyr was a light-reflecting improvement on the rock crystal of earlier French fixtures. So the chandelier, in every conceivable style and any number of materials, became an indispensable element in entries, great halls, salons and other important residential spaces --- and in their grander-scale iterations in hotels, restaurants, department stores and theaters. That is, until Edison’s invention of the incandescent lamp in 1879 brought the end of candle-fitted forms. That, along with increasingly low-ceilinged rooms, led to a decline in ceiling-hung lighting. That is, until nostalgia, a craving for taller ceilings, and a wave of modern chandelier designs brought new life to this old favorite.
Judith Gura
Pictured: Lucas and Tretiach Chandelier
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