3-tiered chandelier of 36 scrolling branches, cast brass, The Netherlands, 1690-1710

Turned baluster stem terminating in a large globe and finial. From this radiate three tiers, each composed of twelve detachable branches of scroll form with leaves and birds' heads terminating in moulded sockets with circular grease-pans for the candles.

The chandelier hung formerly in the Roman Catholic church at Kaatsheuvel, North Brabant in the Netherlands. The Museum acquired it from Mr. M.J. Feunissen in The Hague in 1906. From the opening of the Aston Webb wing of the Museum in 1907 until 1999 the chandelier hung in the Grand Entrance of the V&A. The Object Register notes that several of the branches were repaired in November 1936 when they were 'found to be flawed'.

Brass utility furnishings, even ones as elaborate as this, were frequently melted down and re-fashioned. This is a relatively rare surviving example of a chandelier from before 1730. It was formerly in the Catholic Church in Kaatsheuvel in North Brabant, The Netherlands. Kaatsheuvel was a small but reasonably prosperous town whose main industry was shoe-making.

A 'chandelier' is literally a 'candleholder', its name deriving from the French for candle: 'chandelle'. Chandeliers differ from candelabra in that they are suspended from the ceiling and usually have branch supports for two or more candles or electric lights.

Until the introduction of gas lighting in the nineteenth century, most churches were lit by candlelight. Elaborate chandeliers were costly, as were candles, and were limited to large cathedrals and the wealthier parish churches. The first domestic chandeliers hung only in the homes of the very wealthy. For most households, the primary source of lighting after sunset was the fireplace.

Chandeliers were important functional and decorative items in churches, public halls and domestic interiors. Their polished globes and branches produced a burst of reflected light from their candles.

Early chandeliers evolved from the candle-beam, two pieces of wood nailed together in the form of a cross with a pricket (spike) at each end. The candles fixed on the prickets were usually of animal fat (tallow), rather than the the more expensive beeswax. From the fifteenth century, more complex forms of chandeliers based on ring or crown designs became popular in cathedrals and the palaces of the rich. By the end of the seventeenth century highly ornate three-tiered examples with curling and twisting branches filled the visual space of the more open post-reformation churches. Church lights might also have religious symbolism incorporated into their decoration such as, figures of saints or doves on their central shafts.

The finest early chandeliers were made in Germany especially in areas around the lower Rhine near Cologne and in northern Germany as well as in Flemish centres such as Dinant. By 1700 Dutch chandeliers, or chandeliers influenced by Dutch styles, were sought after, particularly in England.

This is a relatively rare surviving example of a chandelier from before 1730. It was formerly in the Catholic Church in Kaatsheuvel in North Brabant, The Netherlands. Brass utility furnishings, even ones as elaborate as this, were frequently melted down and re-fashioned.

A ‘chandelier’ is literally a ‘candleholder’, its name deriving from the French for candle: ‘chandelle’. Chandeliers differ from candelabra in that they are suspended from the ceiling and usually have branch supports for two or more candles or electric lights. Until the introduction of gas lighting in the nineteenth century, most churches were lit by candlelight. Elaborate chandeliers were costly, as were candles, and were limited to large cathedrals and the wealthier parish churches. Their polished globes and branches produced a burst of reflected light from their candles.

The finest early chandeliers were made in Germany especially in areas around the lower Rhine near Cologne and in northern Germany as well as in Flemish centres such as Dinant. By 1700 Dutch chandeliers, or chandeliers influenced by Dutch styles, were sought after, particularly in England.

169-1907