The Home Beautiful: The Wroxton Abeey Ormolu and Cut Glass Chandelier, 1815

The Victoria & Albert Museum

Made to send the light of candles into glittering cascades, this chandelier dates to 1815 and was made of cut glass mounted in an ormolu framework for Wroxton Abbey, Oxfordshire.

Donated to the V&A in 2003, the piece shows just how important lighting was in Regency interiors, serving to enhance the effect of the characteristic rich colors and gilding. The amount of reflective cut glass and crystal used in chandeliers was enhanced by creating tent-like shapes composed of small pieces of cut glass suspended on wires.