When you think of a chandelier, what comes to mind? Is it elegance and wealth? If you are like the general public that's exactly what you think about. Whether it is dancing in a dancehall or just walking into the entrance of a fancy home, we associate chandeliers with wealth and lavishness.
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 may see that they appear to be crude wooden planks holding up candles.
It wasn't till France's Louis XIV built his palace in Versailles and adorned it with sophisticated and lavish chandeliers that they become linked with the higher class and high society (after all if it wasn't for Louis the XIV's flashiness, the French revolution may never have taken place).
Why, though, have they got 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 needed to better illuminate a room.
The most heavy chandelier is located in Dolmabahe Palace in Istanbul. It is a present from Queen Victoria. This chandelier is so large that it has 750 lamps and it weighs over four tons (remind me not to stand under that chandelier--that might hurt if it fell...).
Even though, most chandeliers may not weigh quite that much, they do weigh a substantial amount, and great care ought to be taken in safely attaching them to the ceiling. Make sure you get a pro to inspect 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 instead of a functional way of illuminating a space. Many 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 subsequent morning). Anyway, most contemporary chandeliers are more about the image of standing and wealth instead of lighting.
Chandeliers have changed significantly all though time. What once started as a functional and straightforward cross of wood which held candles has become more of a symbol of rank that's more about the message of wealth it conveys than the light it produces. Today you can find chandeliers that meet each taste conceivable starting from country chandeliers that try to remember their simple 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 may see that they appear to be crude wooden planks holding up candles.
It wasn't till France's Louis XIV built his palace in Versailles and adorned it with sophisticated and lavish chandeliers that they become linked with the higher class and high society (after all if it wasn't for Louis the XIV's flashiness, the French revolution may never have taken place).
Why, though, have they got 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 needed to better illuminate a room.
The most heavy chandelier is located in Dolmabahe Palace in Istanbul. It is a present from Queen Victoria. This chandelier is so large that it has 750 lamps and it weighs over four tons (remind me not to stand under that chandelier--that might hurt if it fell...).
Even though, most chandeliers may not weigh quite that much, they do weigh a substantial amount, and great care ought to be taken in safely attaching them to the ceiling. Make sure you get a pro to inspect 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 instead of a functional way of illuminating a space. Many 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 subsequent morning). Anyway, most contemporary chandeliers are more about the image of standing and wealth instead of lighting.
Chandeliers have changed significantly all though time. What once started as a functional and straightforward cross of wood which held candles has become more of a symbol of rank that's more about the message of wealth it conveys than the light it produces. Today you can find chandeliers that meet each taste conceivable starting from country chandeliers that try to remember their simple beginnings, all the way up to fancy crystal chandeliers that can be worth a fortune in and of themselves.
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