EARLY 20TH CENTURY, PROBABLY SUPPLIED BY LENYGON & CO.

The present chandeliers are almost certainly copies of a set of six matching giltwood chandeliers, circa 1690, that hung in the Queen's Gallery at Kensington Palace, and were present during the reign of Queen Caroline, the consort of George II (1727-60), who had a personal interest in art and was an enthusiastic collector (Edward Impey, Kensington Palace, the Official Illustrated History, Historic Royal Palaces, London 2003, p. 78, fig. 96). Four of these chandeliers remain in situ in the Queen's Drawing Room at Kensington Palace today; one of which is on loan from the Victoria & Albert Museum (museum no. W.28-1959) having been acquired from the furniture dealer, Philips of Hitchin Ltd. in 1959. The complete set was at the palace until at least 1816-19 for they appear in W.H. Pyne's The History of the Royal Residences of Windsor Castle, St. James's Palace, Carlton House, Kensington Palace, Hampton Court, Buckingham House and Frogmore, p. 67, published in that period. Towards the end of the 17th century, carved and giltwood chandeliers in the French style disseminated through published engravings by Jean Le Pautre, Jean Berain and Daniel Marot replaced the more costly silver and rock crystal examples. The designs, which derived from metalwork sources as in the present example followed a standard pattern of tall baluster shaped stems, often incorporating vases, leaf clad knops and globes with undercut bases and pendants. The design of this example relates to designs for chandeliers of the early 18th century by Daniel Marot who worked for William III (1650-1702) and spent periods of time in England between 1685-1706 (Ernst Wasmuth, Das Ornamentwerk des Daniel Marot, Berlin 1892, p. 168, plate VI).