CHANDELIERS

Sun (Auckland), Volume I, Issue 243, 4 January 1928, Page 6

CHANDELIERS

DECORATIVE VALUE OF GLASS The decorative value of glass has always been recognised from the time when Gothic architecture made possible the great stainedglass window to the present time of glass beads and other ornaments. “Cut” glass is a phrase to conjure with and the word “Waterford” thrills the heart of the collector. The chandelier of Louis Quinze or of Queen Victoria, the Venetian glass flower, Bohemian iridescent glass, are all instances of the many ways in which this attractive substance can be used and enjoyed, and the surprising development of glass of our own day implies almost that its possibilities are infinite.

One of the charms of glass is, no doubt, like that of flowers. It is very easily destroyed. Without the greatest care its life is not worth a moment. Further, it is the perfect vehicle or agent for light. Tfye chiselled glass ornaments which are worn to-day, the jewel-like glass engraving, are themselves light distributors. They do not break it up as did the Victorian lustres, but they give all the tones of white light that are possible. When it comes to artificial lighting the value of glass is multiplied, since besides being utilitarian it can make of that light something remarkably varied and beautiful.

It is in the direction of artificial lighting that glass has perhaps developed most satisfactorily. As long as candles were used the chandelier, old style, distributed light in a very charming way. With the introduction of electric light lustres and drops became a torture to the eye, and the attempt to revive them has been very much at the expense of comfort. At the same time the alabaster bowl, while promoting satisfactorily the inverted light, is dull and commonplace, and very often it does not allow sufficient light to go through it. Inverted lighting has come to stay, and for central lights, at least, the bowl or its equivalent, seems to be the standard receptacle and distributor. It is here that the new glass comes in. Lalique has designed a number of bowls in such manner as to modify a strong light without losing too much

Ot It IXI u.v= moeeb O. ue use* both dull and clear glass, but his chief ; point is engraved glass which produces the two effects at once. A big glass bowl, suspended by greyish silver cords which accord with the tone of the glass, is of thick crystal, engraved all over with a closely-wrought shell pattern. The tips of the shell fit in with the centre of the bowl, and where the light is strongest is most engraving to modify it. The result is a strong but soft white light. Another bowl is decorated all round with glass fins set at right angles to its surface. The bowl itself is of dull white glass marked with ridges. The fins or wings are of thick, clear crystal glass upon which swallows are deeply incised. The light that is lost in coming through the bowl is compensated for by the brilliancy of the crystal wing, which in its turn is reinforced by the bird pattern. Many of the new lighting effects depend solely upon the queer angles at which the glass is set. The Lalique bowls are the modern version of the chandelier, in which the utilitarian purpose almost disappears under the decorative. Each has its place, and while the angular lamp is satisfactory for the office or the more workaday room, the engraved bowl, with its very remarkable workmanship. is suited for the rooms of more leisured and decorative nature. Brass pipe cannot clog with rust and consequently retains its full inside diameter. Water passing through it l will be as clear as at its source.