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The Lighting of Rooms and its Influence on Designs of Early American Colonial FurnitureHistory of Early American Colonial Furniture

Glass Chandelier in First State Room

The use of early American colonial furniture  candelabra, or what would now be termed candle­sticks with branches, can be traced, from wills and other documents, to have existed in England as early as the fourteenth century, but such articles can hardly be ranked under the heading of furniture or decoration.

Hanging candelabra, now termed chandeliers, were first employed for the lighting of churches; Pope Hadrian (A.D. 772–795) is recorded as having presented one to St Peter's capable of holding 1,370 candles; the earliest Gothic cathedrals of northern Europe contained examples, and their use gradually extended to medieval castles and council chambers. These were formed of a large iron ring (suspended from a beam on to which numerous sockets for holding lights were affixed; these candelabra were painted in bright colours, and sometimes further ornamented with gold and jewels.

The adoption of early American colonial furniture  brass for iron seems the next development. In the picture at the National Gallery of a Flemish interior, by Jan van Eyck, painted in 1434, is seen a brass chandelier with eight branches, from which it may be assumed that such articles were by this time not uncommon for domestic purposes in the Netherlands.

D'Allemagne, again, in his work entitled Histoire the Luminaire, illustrates a fifteenth-century Gothic chandelier, having at the top a figure of the Virgin. The Temple Church at Bristol contains another example, which, in addition to the figure of the Virgin, is also ornamented with a small statuette of Saint George.

The above mentioned examples were, no doubt, made in the neighbourhood of Dinant, where brass ware had been produced in large quantities since the fourteenth century; indeed, the products of that district were cele­brated all over Europe under the name of Dinanderie, and many specimens found their way to England for use in cathedrals, if not in the castles.

Pictures of Dutch interiors show that brass chandeliers with branches and round balls on the stems were in general use in that country quite early in the seventeenth century; they had obviously developed from the Gothic form illustrated by Van Dyck. Few specimens are known to have existed in England previous to the Restoration of Charles II; but with that age of luxury they became plentiful, sometimes made with one, sometimes with two and sometimes with three tiers of branches. The one illustrated at the top of page 188 is a typical example. Irrespective of the question of size and the number of branches they varied little, and their use continued until nearly the middle of the eighteenth century. In the vestry at Sherborne Abbey there is an example of fairly large proportions, distinguished for the fact that the ball is finely engraved with coats-of-arms.

The next refinement of the early American colonial furniture  chandelier in England was the substitution of silver for brass, such as the well-known example at Knole, a reproduction of which can be seen in the Wren Room on page 19.

At Murano, glass chandeliers were manufactured in the sixteenth century, but owing to the floral design and bright colourings always characteristic of Venetian taste they have never at any period been regarded as suitable for use in English homes; the earliest glass chandeliers which the writer can trace in this country are the beautiful specimens with cut-glass pendants at Penshurst, though it is doubtful whether these are of English make. On page 188 is illustrated a glass chandelier dating from the latter part of the seventeenth century, its design being inspired by the brass Dutch type previously referred to. From this shape the next example, a few years later in date, which now hangs in the State Room at N° 31 Old Burlington Street, shows a distinct divergence, and also marks the improvement which had taken place in the manufacture and cutting of glass. Glass chandeliers of this period are extremely rare, and this particular one possesses some additional interest as being almost identical, and evidently by the same maker, as the one in the Painted Room at Burleigh House. Another very similar one, though now much reduced in size from its original proportions, is at Groombridge Place, a house built by Sir Christopher Wren.

The palaces of Genoa and the cathedrals in Spain are said to have contained wooden chandeliers in the sixteenth century, but it was only in the reign of William III. that they commenced to be fashionable in this country, the elaborately carved one at Speke Hall probably dating from that time; at Brympton is another example, which formerly hung in Kensington Palace. On page 188 is shown another wooden one, but less elaborate and somewhat lighter in construction. By the date of the accession of George II require­ments had somewhat changed; although huge sums were still lost and won by gambling, the fashion of cardplaying of the preceding reigns (for which candles on the tables were all that was necessary) was to some extent being superseded by more intelligent evening receptions, and more general light was requisite. The eighteen hundred candles, all fixed into gilt branches, described in Mrs Delany’s correspondence as being used in Westminster Hall at the coronation banquet, illustrate the change which had taken place; and the means for obtaining increased light was one of the problems which William Kent had to work out for his aristocratic clients: in the large salon at No 4 Grosvenor Square, a house attributed to Lord Burlington, are two very fine wooden chandeliers designed by him. The beautiful specimen seen on page 189 has been reproduced from an original model of about this period.

The previous descriptions of early American colonial furniture  have all related to what are now termed chandeliers, but the known use of these, at least in this country, does not date back as far as does the use of sconces as a means of illuminating apartments. Cavendish, Gentleman Usher to Cardinal Wolsey, in his account of the banquet given to the French Ambassadors at Hampton Court (1527), speaks of " Great candlesticks of silver and gilt most curiously wrought ... and lights as big as torches burning upon the same, and the plates that hung on the walls to give light in the chamber were of silver and gilt, with lights burning in them."

In the very complete inventory of some ninety-five rooms at Hampton Court, taken after the death of Cromwell, it is curious how extremely few are the references to any means of lighting; possibly, being portable, they were amongst the articles which Mrs Cromwell had hidden over the fruiterer's shop, and which she afterwards had to return. The twelve branches for candles, twice referred to in the inventory, were probably of brass, and hooked on to sockets on the wall. In order to reflect the light, polished brass plates of various designs were fixed behind these branches, and under the name of sconces were in general use. To satisfy the luxury of the court of Charles II, silver was substituted for brass, and the plates were further ornamented with coats-of-arms and elaborate designs. On the top of page 187 are shown examples of such sconces in the collection at Old Burlington Street, and no object could be more decorative on the oak or cedar panelling of this period. Looking-glass was now being manufactured in this country, and one of the earliest uses to which it was devoted was as back plates for sconces, other specimens of which are also shown on the same page.

Another article of early American colonial furniture  which contributed to the illumination of rooms was the torch ere or stand, upon which stood the candelabra or candlestick with many branches; these candle stands were sometimes enriched by coating in silver during the reign of Charles II. In the preceding article on gesso work, a torchere made for King George I has been referred to. In various styles, changing according to the fashions of the day, these stands continued to be manufactured till the close of the eighteenth century.

The early American colonial furniture  wooden chandeliers, although massive in appearance, contained but few branches, and had to be supplemented with candles on the walls. It is difficult to imagine anything more suitable or decorative in a fine apartment than the large sconces illustrated on pages 190 and 191 , or the smaller variety also on the former page, the designs of the other two being evidently the work of William Kent. Another scheme which he adopted to serve the same purpose was the employment of the classic truss, as a bracket supporting a vase-shaped lamp fitted with candle-holders. (See page 189.)

In entrance halls the candles were liable to be blown out, and " lanthorns " of various types had been in use in such apartments for upwards of a century; the decoration of these classic halls was one of the features in the mansions of this period, and lanterns had to be designed to suit the important surroundings. It will be admitted that the one given on page 189 fulfils this object.