Chandelier, 1887–1929, Literary Museum of Alexander Pushkin. Photo by Aloyzas Petrašiūnas, 2017 Fragment of chandelier, 1887–1929, Literary Museum of Alexander Pushkin. Photo by Aloyzas Petrašiūnas, 2017 Fragment of chandelier, 1887–1929, Literary Museum of Alexander Pushkin. Photo by Aloyzas Petrašiūnas, 2017 Fragment of chandelier, 1887–1929, Literary Museum of Alexander Pushkin. Photo by Aloyzas Petrašiūnas, 2017 Chandelier in the dining room. Literary Museum of Alexander Pushkin. Photo made to 1935. Chandelier in the dining room. Literary Museum of Alexander Pushkin. Photo made to 1935.

Literary Museum of Alexander Pushkin

Inv. No. LPM-245

Address: Subačiaus str. 124, Vilnius

Time of origin: 1887–1929

Place of origin: Russia (?) / Poland (?)

Material, Technique: brass: casting, repoussé, cizeling

Dimensions: height – 110 cm, diameter – 70 cm

The remaining photographs of the Markučiai manor’s interior show that the chandelier during the life of Varvara and Grigory Pushkin hung in the dining room over the table. To date, the chandelier is not complete — it lost a part of the kerosene lamp and the hood. Dual-purpose chandeliers/kerosene lamps were common in many Lithuanian manors, and like in Markučiai, in the second half of the 19th century – the early 20th century, they were hung in the dining rooms above the table, e.g., in the manors of Alanta, Vokė, Pajuostis, etc.

The graceful and lightweight chandelier consists of a tracery ring with 12 sconces and three rods that connect it to a modest rosette on the ceilings. Combined chandeliers/kerosene lamps usually have 3–6 sconces for candles. This version of the chandelier in Markučiai Manor is a bit more luxurious with 12 sconces. The neo-Rococo ring of the chandelier is composed of tracery flame ornament. The chandelier is cast from brass. Therefore, when lit, it shines and sparkles. Some of the parts that were present in the kerosene lamp survived: two curved, twisted cord-shape rods with a dish beneath for holding a kerosene lamp and a height adjuster (wheels and chains twisting into three ornamental spheres). Historical pictures from 1935–1939 show that the white glass hood is decorated with art deco ornamentation. This fragile part of the chandelier could have been changed several times. An unusual combination of styles (neo-rococo frame and art deco hood) widens the dating limits of the chandelier from the late 19th century to the 1920s.

Although survived not intact, the chandelier of the Literary Alexander Pushkin Museum, which dates back to the times of the Markučiai manor, is one of the few examples of the lighting means of the manor’s dining room that survived until the present day.

Literature and sources:
  1. Kultūros paminklo restauravimo pasas. Vilniaus m. Literatūrinio A. Puškino muziejaus 12 žvakių šviestuvas su žibaline lempa, in: Kultūros paveldo centro biblioteka, f. 40, ap.1, b. 517.
  2. Valtaitė-Gagač Alantė, XVII a.–XX a. 4 dešimtmečio sietynų paveldas Lietuvoje: Daktaro disertacija, Vilnius: Vilniaus dailės akademija, 2015, p. 230.