Six Arm Chandelier

Dateca.1770-1830

MediumTinned sheet iron, iron and lead solder

DimensionsHeight with chain: 31 7/8" Height without chain: 14 3/16" Width: 27 15/16"

Credit LineMuseum Purchase

Object number1940-212

DescriptionTinplate chandelier with six curved, wire-edged arms decorated with swedged beads. Crimped pans support open-sided candle sockets with folded lips. The central biconical hub is topped with a heavy iron wire hanger to which a suspension chain, of drawn links with an eye at each end, is attached.
Label TextFew metals were as inexpensive, easily worked and versatile as tinned sheet iron. Anything practical that could be made out of the material was, and American tinsmiths excelled at generating fully functional and economical pieces like this chandelier. With its radiating arms, crimped drip pans and a central hub formed from two cones, it is almost as basic as a chandelier's form can be.

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