General Information

Serial #

N/A

Part Number

39

Total Parts

41

AKA

N/A

Patents

N/A

General Description

Lead crystal; brass.

Dimensions

Note: These reflect the general size for storage and are not necessarily representative of the object's true dimensions.

Length

1.5 cm

Width

2.0 cm

Height

1.0 cm

Thickness

N/A

Weight

N/A

Diameter

N/A

Volume

N/A

Lexicon

Group

Lighting Technology

Category

Lighting device parts

Sub-Category

N/A

Manufacturer

AKA

Unknown

Country

Unknown

State/Province

Unknown

City

Unknown

Context

Country

Canada

State/Province

Quebec

Period

First half of the 20th century.

Canada

This lamp is an example of domestic electrical lighting from the mid-1950s. During the 1870’s, two electric lighting technologies emerged onto the world scene: the arc lamp and the incandescent lamp. These two electrical lighting technologies were in direct competition for the same markets and in the 1920’s, the arc lamp lost the technological race to the incandescent bulb, which was smaller, used less energy, and were less costly to produce. By the 1930’s, the incandescent bulb had entrenched itself as the technology of choice for electric lighting needs.

Function

The primary function of this artifact is to reflect and refract the light in a decorative manner.

Technical

This chandelier is an example of domestic electrical lighting from the early 1900s, during an era when incandescent home lighting was not only the emerging dominant lighting technology, but was also a status symbol within the community at large, as it was made in a Victorian style, in the post Victorian age. Prior to this, it was not uncommon to find electric domestic fixtures manufactured in the Victorian style, as they were modeled from existing gas fixtures. This change came about at the 1925 World’s Fair in Paris, as a new artistic style was introduced known as “Art Moderne”. This stylistic movement influenced the shapes and styles of many domestic appliances in the late 1920’s and into the 1930’s by adding functional lines to design schemes, as well as Art Nouveau floral elements and Egyptian and Native American motifs. This modern movement met with smaller, but vibrant counter-movements harkening to earlier eras, both Victorian and Colonial. In the United States, the emerging upper middle class spurred on these counter-movements because it created a sense of parity with the established European elite. Lightolier, an American based lighting manufacturer established in 1904, marketed the “Empire” style, accompanied by the tag line “Inspired by the beauty of the past”. This elegant piece of advertising shows that despite the fact that Art Moderne was hip and trendy, there was still a demand for more established conventional styles within the marketplace. The main section of the chandelier and the pendant pieces are made of crystal. In 1673, George Ravenscroft patented the process of manufacturing crystal by adding varying quantities of lead to glass during the melting stage. He found that by altering the quantities of lead added to the glass, he could change its properties, making it heavier, stronger and more durable. Changing its light diffraction properties can also allow it to shimmer. While experimenting with lead additives, George Ravenscroft found that by not adding enough lead to the mixture, a blue tinge and a crizzling effect was added to the glass. The creation of this type of crystal required a team of 4 to 7 artisans to manufacture because of its thickness. By examining other period pieces found in publications such as Antique Lamp Buyers Guide and The Northern Electric General Catalogue from 1928 and 1935 (CSTM Trade Literature), one finds that the crystal pendants that make up the bulk of the chandelier are not unique. In fact, these three publications all have crystal pendants on incandescent lamps that are similar to those found on this chandelier. Because of the level of skill involved in creating thick walled crystal in interesting shapes, it is reasonable to infer that a higher purchase cost would have been incurred for this chandelier, and that this piece was possibly used as both a lighting fixture and a status symbol.

Area Notes

Unknown

Details

Markings

No markings.

Missing

The artifacts appears complete.

Finish

Faceted lead crystal beads; brass pins.

Decoration

No decoration.