National Museum of Lithuania
Inv. No. IM-11586
Address: Arsenalo str. 1, Vilnius
Time of origin: 1600–1649 (?)
Place of origin: Lithuania, Vilnius
Material, Technique: bronze: casting, turning, embossing, cizeling
Dimensions: height – 43 cm, diameter – 67 cm
The six-arm chandelier belongs to the stem type. The chandelier has eight S-shaped arms arranged in a horizontal line. The disc that receives the arms is covered with another detail from above resembling the lid. Another chandelier preserved in the M.K. Čiurlionis National Museum of Art (Tt-1699) has similar box-type arm holder. As is typical to the old chandeliers, each hole on the disc to receive the arm and each arm was marked by a caster with a specific number of embossed dots. The stem of the chandelier is baluster-shaped. A small sphere beneath is more typical to the 16th – first half of the 17th century. All parts of the stem are embossed in a plait pattern.
The shape of the stem and arms of the chandelier suggests that it may have been made in the first half of the 17th century. However, the extremely smooth surface of the ware gives rise to suspicions that this may be a derivation that was made little later. More detailed research by specialists is needed to determine the exact making time of the chandelier.
There are not many chandeliers in Lithuania from the 17th century; therefore, it is a rare ware that to be protected.
Literature and sources:- Valtaitė-Gagač Alantė, XVII a.–XX a. 4 dešimtmečio sietynų paveldas Lietuvoje: Daktaro disertacija, Vilnius: Vilniaus dailės akademija, 2015, p. 228.