Chandelier spider
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Schneeberg 1860
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Schwarzenberg 1850
A candlestick spider is a symmetrical multi-armed candle holder that can be easily attached to the ceiling. The name is due to the spider-like appearance of the slender, curved arms that carry the candle plates. The chandelier spider is a special type of multi-armed chandelier . It can hang down without moving or it can be equipped with rotating wings and then functions like a Christmas pyramid . This particular design is called a rotating light spider, ceiling pyramid or ceiling chandelier.
history
The beginnings of the chandelier spiders can be seen in the standing multi-part arm lights or candelabras , which are available as street lights from table-size to very large . The hanging of the candle holders came up independently in different European regions. Therefore, both the city-state of Venice and Bohemia or monasteries are considered as origins. Other sources suggest that the spiders go back to pit lighting , in which candles or oil lamps were attached to pit woods, or that they represent a simplified replica of magnificent church chandeliers "for domestic use". Candlesticks hung from the ceiling create space on tables and cannot tip over. They have multiple arms and are statically balanced . Before the invention of electricity, they were equipped with candles of all kinds and helped to illuminate the rooms evenly. The special eight-armed version first appeared in the Ore Mountains around the middle of the 19th century and is still traditionally made there as folk art . More precise information on the origin of the Erzgebirge candlestick spiders has not been handed down, but it is assumed that the hanging candlesticks came with the Bohemian immigrants to the Saxon mountains. The chandeliers richly decorated with crystal glass could have been the forerunners of the wooden versions. The wooden candlesticks were cheaper, easy to manufacture by individuals, and there was plenty of wood.
In the meantime, the number of arms is not limited and they can be arranged one above the other in floors. In addition, there is often other jewelry in the form of carved or turned balls, pearls, figurines, trees or bells between the candle holders . The wooden parts are either natural or can be painted. The light spider is mainly used in the dark season, preferably in Advent or Christmas . Their importance, however, lagged behind the well-known miners , nutcrackers , smokers , pyramids and candle arches . Initially, the candlestick spiders were only equipped with candles , but electric candles were quickly used for safety and convenience reasons. They are mainly used in large rooms.
Chandelier spiders in the media
- Complete motif stamp series with 6 values and a miniature sheet , issued by the GDR Post in November 1989
literature
- Fritz Spannagel: The turner's factory. A textbook for turner teachers and Architects . Meier Verlag 1940.
- Ceiling chandelier and Schwibbogen in the Saxon Ore Mountains , in: Series of publications "Erzgebirgische Volkskunst" of the Fachschule für Tourismus Chemnitz, No. 6. Verlag Husum, 1997
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Homepage of an artisan from Seiffen ( Memento of the original from March 5, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , accessed March 1, 2014.
- ↑ History of the chandelier spiders on a craftsmen's homepage from Annaberg-Buchholz in the Ore Mountains ; accessed on March 1, 2014.
