When you think about a chandelier, what do you think of? Is it sophistication and wealth? If you're like the general public that is precisely what you think about. Whether it is dancing in a dancehall or simply walking into the foyer of a fancy home, we associate chandeliers with wealth and opulence.
Chandeliers were originally a functional item used to simply provide indoor lighting. Actually if you look at early drawings and depictions of a chandeliers, you'll see that they seem like crude wooden planks holding up candles.
It was not till France's Louis XIV built his palace in Versailles and adorned it with intricate and decadent chandeliers that they become linked with the higher class and high society (after all if it wasn't for Louis the XIV's granduer the French revolution may never have taken place).
Why, though, do they have crystals on them? Well, in the 1700's glass making advancements made allowance for the production of lead crystals to develop. These were significant in the history of chandeliers because crystals would create the light-scattering and reflective properties wanted to better illuminate a room.
The heaviest chandelier is located in Dolmabahe Palace in Istanbul. It's a present from Queen Victoria. This chandelier is so massive that it has 750 lamps and it weighs over 4 tons (remind me not to stand under that chandelier--that might hurt if it fell...).
Although, most chandeliers may not weigh quite that much, they do weigh a considerable amount, and great care should be taken in soundly attaching them to the ceiling. Make sure you get a pro to check your home to make sure that your chandelier is safely attached to the structure of the ceiling.
In Modern times (with a capital "M"), chandeliers became more of a luxury item rather than a functional way of illuminating a space. A lot of them become influenced by Rococo style (my history professor once described it as: If Baroque was a wild party, Rococo would be the hangover you get the next morning). Anyway, most modern chandeliers are more about the symbol of status and wealth instead of lighting.
Chandeliers have changed considerably through time. What once started as a functional and straightforward cross of wood which held candles has become more of a status symbol that is more about the message of wealth it conveys than the light it produces. Today you will find chandeliers that meet each taste imaginable ranging from rustic chandeliers that try to remember their straightforward beginnings, all the way up to fancy crystal chandeliers that can be worth a fortune in and of themselves.
Chandeliers were originally a functional item used to simply provide indoor lighting. Actually if you look at early drawings and depictions of a chandeliers, you'll see that they seem like crude wooden planks holding up candles.
It was not till France's Louis XIV built his palace in Versailles and adorned it with intricate and decadent chandeliers that they become linked with the higher class and high society (after all if it wasn't for Louis the XIV's granduer the French revolution may never have taken place).
Why, though, do they have crystals on them? Well, in the 1700's glass making advancements made allowance for the production of lead crystals to develop. These were significant in the history of chandeliers because crystals would create the light-scattering and reflective properties wanted to better illuminate a room.
The heaviest chandelier is located in Dolmabahe Palace in Istanbul. It's a present from Queen Victoria. This chandelier is so massive that it has 750 lamps and it weighs over 4 tons (remind me not to stand under that chandelier--that might hurt if it fell...).
Although, most chandeliers may not weigh quite that much, they do weigh a considerable amount, and great care should be taken in soundly attaching them to the ceiling. Make sure you get a pro to check your home to make sure that your chandelier is safely attached to the structure of the ceiling.
In Modern times (with a capital "M"), chandeliers became more of a luxury item rather than a functional way of illuminating a space. A lot of them become influenced by Rococo style (my history professor once described it as: If Baroque was a wild party, Rococo would be the hangover you get the next morning). Anyway, most modern chandeliers are more about the symbol of status and wealth instead of lighting.
Chandeliers have changed considerably through time. What once started as a functional and straightforward cross of wood which held candles has become more of a status symbol that is more about the message of wealth it conveys than the light it produces. Today you will find chandeliers that meet each taste imaginable ranging from rustic chandeliers that try to remember their straightforward beginnings, all the way up to fancy crystal chandeliers that can be worth a fortune in and of themselves.
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