Chandelier, the 2nd half of the 19th c., the National Museum of Lithuania, IM-2991. Photo by Kęstutis Stoškus, 2019 A fragment of the chandelier, the 2nd half of the 19th c., the National Museum of Lithuania, IM-2991. Photo by Kęstutis Stoškus, 2019 A fragment of the chandelier, the 2nd half of the 19th c., the National Museum of Lithuania, IM-2991. Photo by Kęstutis Stoškus, 2019 A fragment of the chandelier, the 2nd half of the 19th c., the National Museum of Lithuania, IM-2991. Photo by Kęstutis Stoškus, 2019 A fragment of the chandelier, the 2nd half of the 19th c., the National Museum of Lithuania, IM-2991. Photo by Kęstutis Stoškus, 2019

The National Museum of Lithuania

Inv. No. IM-2991

Address: Arsenalo str. 1, Vilnius

Time of origin: 1850–1899

Place of origin: Central Europe

Material, Technique: bronze, copper alloy: casting, repoussé, cizeling; painting

Dimensions: height – 125 cm, diameter – 55 cm

The chandelier preserved in the National Museum of Lithuania belongs to a dishlight type. At the top of the ware is a dish with three pullers that move the chains up and down. Their terminals are attached to a heavy sphere-shaped lever. The chains holding the chandelier consist of interconnected cast plates ornamented with palmettes. The chandelier has six arms for candles and a bowl in the centre in which a kerosene lamp or a decorative urn could have been placed (this element, unfortunately, has been lost).

The main bowl, lever, and dish on the top of the chandelier are made of copper tin and black-painted. The bowl of the chandelier is decorated with palmettesʼ leaves beneath, a pine cone pendant and arms with faces of the mythological Greek deity Zeus. Although the ware is rich in Empire-style décor, given the quality of the artistry and the mixed ornamentation, it dates back to the 2nd half of the 19th century.

It is a Historicism-style ware of industrial production. The chandelier with height adjuster is one of the rarest examples; therefore, it is valuable typologically in Lithuania.

Literature and sources:
  1. Kačinskienė Klaudija, Mažeikienė Ona, XV–XX a. pr. apšvietimo priemonės, Vilnius: Lietuvos TSR istorijos ir etnografijos muziejus, 1980, p. 34.
  2. Valtaitė-Gagač Alantė, XVII a.–XX a. 4 dešimtmečio sietynų paveldas Lietuvoje: Daktaro disertacija, Vilnius: Vilniaus dailės akademija, 2015, p. 223.