The Evolution of Chandeliers

Are chandeliers fashionable?

Yes! Chandeliers have been a mainstay of lighting design for Centuries. Did you know that they are also sometimes referred to as a girandole (a French word, derived from Latin) or candelabra?

The basic meaning for this is a branched ornate support for candles. This would have been what they were referred to from the 5th to the mid-18th Century when the word Chandelier made its way into the English Language in 1736.

Chandeliers are synonymous with luxury and status and were popular in palaces and homes of nobility from the 15th Century. Originally used with lit animal fats, these gave way to candles over time which allowed for a finer, more decorative silhouette.

Medieval Chandeliers

During this time, they would have been based on cartwheel rings or crown designs. Made in wood or wrought iron, they epitomise the era.

Gothic Chandeliers

As techniques were honed and advanced, chandeliers became more ornate throughout the era, with the introduction of Gothic elements in chandelier designs.

18th Century Crystal Chandeliers

The next major change in chandelier design was when glass-making took an important advancement with the introduction of lead. This led the way to the crystal chandeliers that many of us instantly think of when we imagine a chandelier.

More ornate cast ormolu (gilded) chandeliers were created to add further decadence to the sparkling designs. Faceted glass with lead content created prisms of light that added colour that had not been experienced before.

Victorian Chandeliers

Throughout the evolution of chandeliers to this point, we see them getting increasingly ornate. In the Victorian era, however, gas lighting became an option for wealthy homes which was welcomed to save messy candle wax drips.

Gas lighting worked by heating a ‘mantle’ with a gas flame. Due to this technique, globes were often used which made the design of a gas-lit Victorian Chandelier far less decorative. These were often referred to as ‘gasoliers’; a portmanteau of gas and chandelier.

It was therefore the choice for many grand homes to keep traditional candle chandeliers in socialising rooms.

Traditional Chandeliers

When electricity became a mainstay in people’s homes, the chandelier was reinvented to utilise candle bulbs. Embracing the historical grandeur of chandeliers, they were used in the ‘best’ rooms in the home that were saved for guests, such as the dining room.

Whilst crystal was still popular in the designs, turbulent economics saw more simple chandelier designs being created. Still large in scale, they maintained an impressive stature whilst minimising elaborations, offering a more statuesque look that saw them being used in banks and gentlemen’s rooms.