Contemporary Chandelier: A Commonplace Piece of Practical Art
The contemporary chandelier can be dated as far back as the colonial times and the 18th century in Europe. By this time, the chandelier wasn’t only a lighting fixture or a complex candle holder, but a symbol of status, power and prestige. With new manufacturing techniques came more elaborate designs. Some of the earliest elaborate designs were handcrafted and are still considered artistic gems. Chandeliers continue to be prestigious pieces of décor, held in high regard, both in the home, places of business and public spaces. The contemporary chandelier is a common choice for the illumination of large spaces from dining rooms to large lobbies, but is still more commonly chosen for its beauty and visually impressive effect than for its practicality.
The most common materials used in the crafting of the contemporary chandelier are metal, most often iron, for the stem, body and arms, and crystal and other glass mixtures for the bowls or other decorative elements on the chandelier. As the use of gas became more widespread in the mid nineteenth century and new metal molding and glass cutting techniques were discovered, the contemporary chandelier became ever more commonplace in homes and significant public areas. One of the most prized chandeliers in the world and the world’s largest chandelier made of Bohemian crystal, carrying 750 lamps and weighing 4.5 tons, can be found in the Domanbahce Palace in Istanbul, Turkey, and was a gift from England’s Queen Victoria. Another example of the ornate art of a contemporary chandelier can be seen in the magnificently designed underground below Russia’s capital, the Moscow subway.
One can only imagine the complex cleaning procedures involved in the maintenance of these glowing pieces of contemporary art. The contemporary chandeliers that grace every large station of Moscow’s complex subway system are taken down for cleaning twice a year and locals and tourists alike gather to watch hours of the painstaking task. For a proper and lasting cleaning, each crystal, bowl or glass piece must be removed and cleaned individually with glass cleaning fluid and soft rags, then set aside on non-abrasive cloth while the stem and body of these wondrous and large light fixtures are perfectly cleansed. The pieces are then returned to their respective places and the chandeliers hoisted to their proper place and height.
The maintenance procedure for the more common contemporary chandelier doesn’t differ very much from the one we have described above. Although the amount of work really depends on the size of the chandelier, the proper cleaning procedure remains the same. Both the size and design of the contemporary chandelier of your choice, however, depends on the size of the room you wish to place it in and the overall design of your home or other location you are decorating with this particular kind of lighting fixture. Antique designs are more commonly used in homes that are decorated in a colonial, antique or rustic style, while the most modern and even some vintage designs often fit into various architectural structures and design combinations.
Depending on your choice and needs, its design as well as the materials used in crafting it, a contemporary chandelier can cost anywhere from forty dollars up to tens of thousands of dollars. One thing remains certain – after the twentieth century, when electricity was put to use, ornate chandeliers became more common than ever before. With new techniques and machinery being created every day, for both the design and manufacturing, and the use of both old and new materials, there is no more typical contemporary chandelier.