Maria Theresa Chandelier

The crystal chandelier was created in the Fürstenhöfen of the Ancien Régime and since then has been through a rich stylistic history. In place of the originally used rock crystal, glass was already used in the 18th century, which was not least due to the high demand on the part of the aristocracy combined with a simultaneous shortage of rock crystal. During the Habsburg monarchy “economical” chandeliers were made from wrought iron and produced with a closely arranged glass hanging. Under Maria Theresa (1717-1780) this “Vienna chandelier“ acquired the name of the Kaiserin. Not least because of the long-established company in Austria and Bohemia the “Maria Theresa Chandelier” is regarded as the epitome of the classical chandelier.