Paul Kiss, Neo-gothic "salamander" Chandelier, France, Circa 1925, Wrought Iron

Chandelier in the Neo-Gothic style with four light arms, typical of the artistic ironworkof the Art Deco period, attributed to Paul Kiss. The square central shaft, whose sides are decorated withcircular stamped motifs, is topped by four large volutes of flat ironthat fan out. The middle section is adorned with four repoussé ironshields depicting salamanders in relief, surmounted by pointed detailsevoking crowns or fleurs-de-lis. Below these escutcheons, two smooth ringswith a coppery hue encircle the shaft, creating a contrast in materialsthat extends to the tops of the horizontal arms, which are themselves covered with asimilar metal band. These arms, supported by thick volutes,support torch-shaped light arms at their ends,composed of a geometric repetition of small flat-iron volutes.

Biography

PaulKiss (1885–1962) was a master ironworker of Romanian origin who became one of theleading figures of Art Deco in France. Active in Paris beginning in the 1920s, hedistinguished himself with a rigorous, geometric style, elevating hammered wrought ironby often pairing it with contrasting details in bronze orcopper. Particularly famous for his interior ironwork and hishighly refined light fixtures, he achieved public acclaim atthe 1925 International Exhibition of Decorative Arts, definitively establishinghimself as one of the greatest designers of the interwar period.