Chandelier
A chandelier is an ornamental lighting device, typically with spreading branched supports for multiple lights, designed to be hung from the ceiling. Chandeliers are often ornate, and they were originally designed to hold candles, but now incandescent light bulbs as well as fluorescent lamps and LEDs are commonly used,
A wide variety of materials ranging from wood and earthenware to silver and gold can be used to make chandeliers. Brass is one of the most popular materials, but glass is most commonly associated with chandeliers. Classic glass and crystal chandeliers have arrays of hanging "crystal" prisms to illuminate a room with refracted light. Chandeliers may illuminate a room with direct light from the lights or they may be shaded. The design of contemporary chandeliers may be more minimalist, but chandeliers produced nowadays can span a wide variety of styles, from the modern to the traditional or a combination of both.
Although chandeliers have been called candelabras, chandeliers can be distinguished from candelabras which are designed to stand on tables or the floor, while chandeliers are hung from the ceiling. They are also distinct from pendant lights, as they usually consist of multiple lamps and hang in branched frames, whereas pendant lights hang from a single cord and only contain one or two lamps with few decorative elements. Large chandeliers are typically installed in the grand rooms of buildings including halls and lobbies, or in religious buildings such as churches, synagogues or mosques. In a domestic setting, they may be installed in large hallways and staircases, living rooms, lounges, and dining rooms, often as focus of the room. Small chandeliers can also be installed in smaller spaces such as bedrooms or small living spaces.
Etymology
The word chandelier was first known in the English language in the sense as used today in 1736, borrowed from the word in French that means a candleholder. It may have been derived from chandelle meaning "tallow candle", or chandelabre in Old French and candēlābrum in Latin, and ultimately from candēla meaning "candle". In the earlier periods, the term "candlestick", chandelier in France, may be used to refer to a candelabra, a hanging branched light, or a wall light or sconce. In English, "hanging candlesticks" or "branches" were used to mean lighting objects hanging from the ceiling until chandelier began to be used in the 18th century.In France, chandelier still means a candleholder, and what is called chandelier in English is ' in French, a term first used in the late-17th century. The French lustre, from Italian ', can also be used in English to mean a chandelier hung with crystals, or the glass pendant used to decorate such chandelier. The use of words for indoor lighting objects can be confusing, and a number of terms like lustres, branches, chandeliers and candelabras were used interchangeably at various times, which can make the early appearance of these words misleading. Girandole was also once used to refer to all candelabra as well as chandelier, although girandole now usually means an ornate branched candleholder that may be mounted on a wall, often with a mirror. Chandeliers may sometimes be called suspended lights, although not all suspended lights are necessarily chandeliers.
History
Precursors
Hanging lighting objects, some described as chandeliers, were known since ancient times, and circular ceramic lamps with multiple points for wicks or candles were used in the Roman period. The Roman terms ' or ' can refer to candlestick, floor lamps, candelabra, or chandelier. By the 4th century, terms such as ', ', pharicanthari were used, and they were often mentioned as presents of the popes.In the Byzantine period, flat circular metallic structures suspended with chains that can hold oil lamps known as polycandela were commonly used throughout the eastern Mediterranean. First developed in late antiquity, polycandela were used in churches and synagogues, and took the shape of a bronze or iron frame holding a varying number of globular or conical glass beakers provided with a wick and filled with oil. They may be hung between columns, over the altar or tombs of saints. Polycandela were also commonly used to furnish households up until the 8th century.
Hanging lamps were commonly found in mosques in Islamic countries, while sanctuary lamps were found in churches. In Iberia, which had significant Moorish influence, artisans produced hanging farol lanterns in pierced brass, bronze, and glass, alongside sanctuary lamps. A type of Spanish silver lampadario with an elongated central reservoir for oil may have developed into a form of chandelier that has a central baluster and branching arms.
The early form of hanging lighting objects in religious buildings may be of considerable size. Huge hanging lamps in Hagia Sophia were described by Paul the Silentiary in 563: "And beneath each chain he has caused to be fitted silver discs, hanging circle-wise in the air, round the space in the center of the church. Thus these discs, pendant from their lofty courses, form a coronet above the heads of men. They have been pierced too by the weapon of the skillful workman, in order that they may receive shafts of fire-wrought glass and hold light on high for men at night." In the late 8th century, Pope Adrian I was said to have presented the St. Peter's Basilica with a chandelier that could hold 1,370 candles, while his successor Pope Leo III presented a golden corona decorated with jewels to the Basilica of St. Andrew. The Venerable Bede mentioned that it was customary to have two hanging lighting devices called phari in a major English church, one in the nave and one in the choir, which may be a large bronze hoop with lamps hung over the figure of a cross.
Early chandeliers
In the medieval period, circular crown-shaped hanging devices made of iron called the corona were used in many European countries in religious buildings since the 9th century. The larger Romanesque or Gothic-style circular wheel chandeliers were also recorded in Germany, France, and the Netherlands in the 11th and 12th century. Four Romanesque wheel chandeliers survive in Germany, including to be the Azelin and Hezilo chandeliers in Hildesheim Cathedral, and the Barbarossa Chandelier in the Aachen Cathedral. These large structures may be considered the first true chandeliers. These chandeliers have prickets and cups for oil and wicks. A hammered iron corona with floral decorated was recorded in the St Paul's Cathedral in London in the 13th century. The iron chandeliers may have polychrome paint as well as jewel and enamelwork decorations.Wooden candle beams or hanging candlesticks were the early form of chandelier used in a domestic setting and they were found in the households of the wealthy in the medieval period. The wooden cross beams were attached to a vertical wooden pillar, and on each of the four arms a candle may be placed. Some that could hold two candles in each arm were called "double candlesticks". While simple in design compared to later chandeliers, such wooden chandeliers were still found in the court of Charles VI of France in the 15th century and a double candlestick was listed in the inventory of the estate of Henry VIII of England in the 16th century. In the medieval period, chandeliers may also be lighting devices that could be moved to different rooms. Wooden candle beams became obsolete after the 16th century to be replaced by brass chandeliers, but by the end of 17th century, wood was again widely used in chandeliers, carved and gilded to resemble the more expansive materials.
By the late Gothic period, more complex forms of chandeliers appeared. Chandeliers with many branches radiating out from a central stem, sometimes in tiers, were made by the 15th century, and these may be adorned with statuettes and foliated decorations. Chandelier became popular decorative features in palaces and homes of nobility, clergy and merchants, and their high cost made chandeliers symbols of luxury and status. A diverse range of materials were also employed in the making of chandeliers. In Germany, a form of chandeliers made of deer antlers and wooden sculpted figures called lusterweibchen were known to have been made since the 14th century. Ivory chandeliers in the palace of the king of Mutapa, were depicted in a 17th-century description by Olfert Dapper. A variety of materials, such as wood, gesso, brass, bronze and lead may be used together. Porcelain introduced to Europe were also used to make chandeliers in the 18th century.
Brass chandelier
Many different metallic materials have been used to make chandeliers, including iron, pewter, bronze, or more prestigiously silver and even gold. Brass, however, has the warm appearance of gold while being considerably cheaper, and also easy to work with, it therefore became a popular choice for making chandeliers. Brass or brass-like latten has been used to make chandeliers since the medieval period, and many were made with brass-type alloy from Dinant until the mid-15th century. The metal chandeliers may have a central support with curved or S-shaped arms attached, and at the end of each arm is a drip-pan and nozzle for holding a candle; by the 15th century, candle nozzles were used instead of prickets to hold the candles since candle production techniques allowed for the production of identically sized candles. Many such brass chandeliers can be seen depicted in Dutch and Flemish paintings from the 15th to 17th centuries. These Dutch and Flemish chandeliers may be decorated with stylized floral embellishments as well as Gothic symbols and emblems and religious figures. Large numbers of brass chandeliers existed, but most of the early brass chandeliers did not survive destruction during the Reformation.The Dutch brass chandeliers have distinctive features – a large brass sphere at the end of a central ball stem, and six curved low-swooping arms. The globe helps to keep the chandelier upright and reflect the light from candles, and the arms are curved downward to bring the candles to the level of the sphere to allow for maximum reflection. The arms of early brass chandeliers may also have drooped lower through use over time as the brass used in the earlier period was softer due to lower zinc content. Many Dutch chandeliers were topped by a double-headed eagle by the 16th century. The features of Dutch brass chandeliers were widely copied in other countries, and this form is arguably the most successful and long-lasting of all types of chandeliers. Dutch brass chandeliers were popular across Europe, particularly in England, as well as in the United States. Variations of the Dutch brass chandelier were produced, for example there may be multiple tiers of the arms, the sphere may become elongated, or the arms may emerge from the globe itself. By the early 18th century, ornate cast ormolu forms with long, curved arms and many candles were in the homes of many in the growing merchant class.