South Netherlandish, Dinant, circa 1500

most of the arms of the tiers numbered with their corresponding channels for placement on the central stem

A catholic church in the Netherlandish town of Oudenbosch
Where acquired by J. Boas Berg, Amsterdam
Baron Albert von Oppenheim Collection, Cologne
His sale, Berlin, Rudolph Lepke, Berlin 28-29 October 1914, lot 20
Where acquired by Julius Böhler, Munich.

 

Bayerisches Nationalmuseum, Munich, on loan 1981-2001
Collecting Treasures of the Past, Blumka Gallery, Julius Böhler and Brimo de Laroussilhe, 22 January - 8 February, New York, 2002, no. 74

Baron Albert von Oppenheim Collection, Cologne, Rudolph Lepke Kunst-Auctions-Haus, Berlin 1914, vol. 2, no. 205, pl. 75

Good golden brown patina. Some of the elements are associated but also early, including the Madonna and Child and handle in the mouth of the lion at the bottom of the chandelier. The candle sockets and some of the drip-pans were replaced when piece was electrified. Standard dents and surface abrasions throughout, consistent with age. Small holes in the back of Virgin's head.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

Gothic chandeliers of the present type were reserved for wealthy patrons and the prominent holy spaces. The  inclusion of a similar chandelier in Petrus Christus' Virgin and Child in an Interior in the Nelson Atkins Museum, Kansas City (inv. no. 65.51) (figs. 1-2) illustrates their status as a luxury object for private interiors. Due, in part, to the abundance of precious metal used, few 15th century Netherlandish chandeliers of this scale survive today. Extant examples include those in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York and the Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam.

Netherlandish Gothic chandeliers can be divided in two distinct types, the tabernacle and the spindle variant. Tabernacle chandeliers, an important example of which was sold at Sotheby's London on 10 July 2014, lot 51, include a figure mounted at the centre surrounded by a Gothic turret with tracery decoration. The present chandelier is of the spindle type, surmounted by a figure and including two tiers of eight arms. Centered by a turned column, the whole is supported by an interior iron rod. The chandelier terminates in a tapering, crocketed pinnacle with a hexagonal knop in the form of a lion's mask. The upper section is centered with a figure of the Virgin and Child within an aureole and atop the crescent moon. A chandelier with an identical construction but with an angel rather than the Virgin and Child  is in the Victoria and Albert Museum, London and is there dated between 1480 and 1520 (inv. no. 2398-1855). The central statuette of the Immaculate Virgin is identical to late 15th century Netherlandish metalwork (see O. ter Keile, Koper & Brons, Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam, nos. 172 and 173).

According to Lockner (op. cit.) chandeliers were often given as wedding gifts or for the glorification of God when they were placed in churches. In 1495, the German traveller Jerome Munzer described seeing over four hundred  chandeliers of differing sizes in the Antwerp Cathedral; the sight must have been spectacular. Most often found in the Low Countries, the attribution of this type of chandelier to the Netherlands is substantiated by their presence in Netherlandish paintings, like the aforementioned painting by Christus.

Together with Nuremberg, Dinant was the foremost centre for metalwork in the 15th century. The town, situated on the river Meuse in modern Belgium, was famed for its brass ware, termed dinanderie. Significantly, in 1466, many of the town's craftsmen were forced to flee to cities like Nuremberg, when it was sacked by Charles the Bold, the Duke of Burgundy. Objects made in Nuremberg thenceforth in the Dinant style, are also referred to as dinanderie.

RELATED LITERATURE
E. Meyer, 'Der gotische Kronleuchter in Stans', Festschrift Hans R. Hahnloser, 1961, pp. 151-184
H. P. Lockner, 'Ein gotischer Tabernakelkronleuchter. Aufbau und Konstruktion', Kunst und Antiquitäten. Zeitschrift für Kunstfeunde, Sammler und Museen, 1982, pp. 47-57, no. 5
O. ter Kuile, Koper en Brons, cat. Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam, 1986, pp. 122-125, 150-151, nos. 170-172, 197-199
N. Netzer, Catalogue of Medieval Objects. Metalwork, cat. Museum of Fine Arts Boston, Boston, 1991, pp. 128-129, no. 44
P. Barnet and P. Dandridge, Lions, Dragons, and other Beasts. Aquamanilia of the Middle Ages, Vessels for Church and Table, exh. cat. Bard Graduate Center, New Haven and London, 2006, pp. 142-143, no. 20