Styles of Antique Chandelier Lighting

A chandelier serves many purposes. Aside from the obvious uses of chasing away darkness and setting mood, a chandelier can also express your own aesthetic sensibilities and impress visitors with its beauty and workmanship. Whether you're trying to illuminate or impress, or both, a familiarity with lighting styles will help you choose an appropriate chandelier.

19th Century Exuberance

Late 19th century chandelier form was dictated by the requirement for safe gas usage. Chandelier arms were spaced far enough apart to avoid overheating. Gas jets faced upward, so glass globes followed suit. Those days, less was not more. Victorian chandeliers featured fancy cast brass details, as well as colored or etched glass shades. From about 1880 to 1920, chandeliers often had both upward-facing gas jets and downward-facing electric bulbs. Most antique gas fixtures were long ago wired for electricity. Modern, electric reproductions sometimes sport upward- and downward-facing fixtures.

Lighting on a Mission

From about 1900, the Arts and Crafts Movement influenced everything domestic including architecture, furniture, textiles and lighting. The Mission style is probably the most recognizable expression of Arts and Crafts. Like the square, oak furniture of the day, lighting also featured boxy lines and natural-looking materials. Chandelier arms often had 90 degree angles made from square piping. Materials included genuine patinated bronze, raw iron and warm-hued mica -- or were made to look like they were. The recent resurgence of Arts and Crafts styling means there are many modern copies of varying degrees of quality.

Classical Simplicity

By 1920, more and more furniture, accessories and house fittings took on classic styling that reminded patriotic homeowners of Colonial America. Designers took clues from historic colonial examples. Whether executed in polished, Baroque-styled brass or simple iron and wood, chandeliers looked like true candle holding fixtures that had later been wired for electricity. Good quality Colonial Revival chandeliers, whether antique or modern copies, are heavy and made from solid brass, wood or iron elements. Lower quality antique examples abound and are made from brass-plated steel sheeting and mass produced glass shades.

Fred and Ginger Were Here

Lighting in the two decades following The International Exposition of Modern Industrial and Decorative Arts in Paris in 1925 were influenced by Art Deco style. Surprisingly, Deco lighting was often not as clean lined as the stylish interiors featured in Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers movies or the theaters they were shown in. Most homeowners required styling that was less severe. The overall lines were similar to high style examples, but with curly flourishes and decorated surfaces. Wall sconces and chandeliers often boasted lovely etched slipper shades that are now, once again, appreciated by old house enthusiasts.

Space Age Inspiration

The clean lines, general lack of decoration and focus on modern materials makes mid-century modern chandeliers instantly recognizable. Look for plastics, stainless steel, fiberglass and painted surfaces. Shades could be wide drums, geometric shapes, cones or discs that resembled flying saucers. The style rested a bit after about 1965, but made a big comeback by the turn of the 21st century. Affordable originals are still available. If you're looking for chandeliers by the now famous designers and manufacturers of the day, though, the cost can be very dear.