Girandoles
designed 1849
Medium
Gilt brass, glass, and marble
Dimensions
Center: 42.2 × 36.8 cm (16 5/8 × 14 1/2 in.); Side pieces: 35.9 × 15.9 cm (14 1/8 × 6 1/4 in.)
Classification
candleholder
Department
Arts of the Americas
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
214275
Art Historical Context
Step into the elegant glow of *Girandoles*, a stunning trio of candleholders designed by William F. Shaw in 1849. This set features a commanding center piece measuring 42.2 × 36.8 cm, flanked by two smaller side pieces at 35.9 × 15.9 cm each, crafted from lavish gilt brass, sparkling glass, and polished marble. Housed in the Art Institute of Chicago's Arts the Americas department, theseandoles—ornate multi-arm candelabras often used on mantels—exemplify mid-19th-century American. In the antebellum era, as America's burgeoning middle and upper classes sought to emulate European opulence, piece...