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Florentine Barocchetto chandelier with eight lights – mid-18th century
Florentine work of excellent quality: a hand-shaped iron armature with a gesso (scagliola) ground, gilded with gold leaf. The baluster-form stem carries a single corona with eight arms of strong, sweeping curvature—a rocaille vocabulary typical of Tuscan Barocchetto. The drip pans preserve the original candle arrangement, now fitted with sockets. The gilding has matured into a warm patina, with amber veils and gentle burnishing from candle and wax smoke—a soft depth that brings out profiles and relief.
The piece emerges from the network of workshops in mid-18th-century Florence: the blacksmith built the armature, the plasterer laid the ground layers, the gilder finished in gold leaf. Those same shops supplied palaces, churches, and theatres, where light was staged by chandeliers and mirrored surfaces multiplying the glow. For lighting and cleaning, chandeliers like this were lowered on ropes and pulleys and then hoisted back up—hence the robust stem and suspensions.
In the 20th century it was electrified with external wiring at the candle positions, a reversible, respectful conversion. Rare for quality and complexity and in excellent condition, it is not “just another light”: it is a piece of history.
An object like this sets the tone for the room: suspended above a large table it holds the scene, or becomes the center of gravity in a high-ceilinged space; with its eight curved arms it orchestrates the light, as on a stage.
- Material: Gilded wood and iron
- Condition: Restored
- Period: Seconda metà del '700
- Style: Rococò
- State: Optimal conditions
