National Museum of Lithuania

Inv. No. IM-4617/1, IM-4617/2

Address: Arsenalo str. 1, Vilnius

Time of origin: 1850–1899

Place of origin: Western Europe

Material, Technique: cast iron: casting, cizeling; imitation of gilding

Dimensions: height – 47 cm

The twin chandeliers preserved in the National Museum of Lithuania belongs to a stem type. They were created during the period of Historicism when it was loved to replicate and mix different style motifs of the last centuries. Although the chandeliers are small (only half a meter), they are extremely heavy — perhaps cast from cast iron. The stem is threaded of individual details decorated with floral motifs. Beneath the stem, a small bowl terminates with a bud. From above, it is like covered by a smooth lid, which receives five S-shaped arms also adorned with floral motifs. Pendants cast in the curves of the arms give the chandelier ornateness and features of the neo-Renaissance style. The sconces are divided into slices, and one of the chandeliers (IM-4617/1) has additional drip pans mounted into sconces to catch falling wax.

These small chandeliers could decorate the interior of an unknown Lithuanian manor house. In the context of chandeliers survived in Lithuania, they stand out as miniature and rare cast iron wares.

Literature and sources:

1. Kačinskienė Klaudija, Mažeikienė Ona, XVI–XX a. pr. apšvietimo priemonės, Vilnius: Lietuvos TSR istorijos ir etnografijos muziejus, 1980, p. 35;
2. Valtaitė-Gagač Alantė, XVII a.–XX a. 4 dešimtmečio sietynų paveldas Lietuvoje: Daktaro disertacija, Vilnius: Vilniaus dailės akademija, 2015, p. 224.