Images(16)

Chandelier

Date1752 (dated)

OriginEngland, London (probably)

MediumBrass (copper alloy); iron

DimensionsOH: 29 1/2"; OW: 36 1/4"

Credit LineMuseum Purchase

Object number1958-469

DescriptionBrass ten-arm chandelier: An iron suspension rod supports a central shaft comprised of six individual cast and soldered elements of bell, baluster, hemispherical, and ring shape; an inverted bell-shaped pendant at the base is threaded to fit the iron rod and support the elements above it. An inverted U-shaped fastener is threaded at the top of the rod to secure the elements below and to serve as a hanger for the assemble chandelier; it is hidden by a free-floating brass flame finial. A narrow ring/collar encircles the large compressed sphere on the shaft; ten circular supports with squared central openings are affixed to this ring to hold a single tier of ten arms. Each furled S-scrolled arm terminates in a squared bracket which fits within the supports. Each arm features a squared element at its mid-point and a removable tubular candle socket with bulbous base and threaded post above a removable shallow circular drip pan.
Label TextThe minutes of the Haberdasher’s Company of London record that on October 13, 1752, Sir Thomas Harrison made a gift of “two Branches that now hang up in the Court Room” of the guildhall. At the time Thomas Harrison (1701–1765) was both the Master of the Worshipful Company of Haberdashers and the newly-elected Chamberlain of London. His presentation of a pair of English brass ten-arm chandeliers would have been noteworthy; such lighting devices were expensive and typically found only in public spaces. In gratitude for Harrison’s donation, the Company inscribed the chandeliers to document his generosity. The animated flame finial atop the central shaft and delicate scrolled arms illustrate the ascendancy of the rococo style in British brass work.
InscribedEngraved in block letters on lower half of central sphere below equitorial ring with brackets for arms: "THE GIFT OF SR THOS HARRISON KNT. CHAMBERLAIN OF THE CITY OF LONDON AND MASTER OF THE WORSHIPFULL COMPANY OF HABERDASHERS IN 1752."
ProvenanceS. W. Wolsey, 71 & 72 Buckingham Gate, London, SW1