Baccarat, Crystal Chandelier, France, Circa 1825

Elegant cut and faceted crystal chandelier with six lights attributed to Baccarat. Composed of a cup decorated with palmets on a grid background surrounded by a gilded bronze crown with alternating decoration of flowers and faun’s heads on a leafy background. The set is suspended by three articulated chains threaded with crystals, attached to a crown-shaped gilded bronze ceiling light. The chandelier is adorned with numerous crystal pendants.

Between 1764 and 1860, with rare exceptions, the crystal Manufacture of Baccarat doesn’t sign its works. The first paper labels appear in 1860 and represent inside a circle, a carafe surrounded by a goblet and a cup above which is marked BACCARAT. From 1875, the brand BACCARAT in stick letters and in relief is present on some blown models and on the bronze parts of the mounts. It’s from 1936 that the carafe, surrounded by a goblet and a cup with BACCARAT marked above, appears systematically on the production.

Biography :
The famous crystal manufacture of Baccarat, that dates back to the 18th century, was awarded its first medal in 1823, during the “Exposition des Produits de l’Industrie” for the “brilliance and the sharpness of its crystal” and became then the most renowned French “cristallerie”. Baccarat was undoubtedly the only French manufacture, that exhibited steadily and magnificently its products at the various Universal Exhibitions, and especially between 1855 and 1867. Reports of the Universal Exhibition, from 1855 to 1867, talk about the “perfection of the material and of its cut”, considered superior of those from Bohemia or England.