(Gasolier, one of pair)
Circa 1855
America
Bronze, spelter, glass globes: 63 inches tall
Campbell House Museum
Descriptive Detail
Embellished with swirling designs and allegorical figures, this elaborate six-arm bronze chandelier is one of a pair that hangs from the parlor ceiling in the Campbell House. Delicate fluted and acid-etched class shades sit on each arm of the fixture. A leaf pattern in the Aesthetic Style surrounds the upper portion of each globe—the lower section is frosted glass. These fragile globes may have originally graced the fixture.
The fixture, now electric, was powered with gas when installed. Made of gilded bronze and iron, mermaids, lizards, mice, eagles, winged griffins, and grotesque faces almost play hide-and-seek within the elaborate embellishments. The Victorian style, named after Queen Victoria who ruled in England from 1837-1901, incorporated a variety of artistic movements including the Neo-Gothic and the Aesthetic Movement and also borrowed from a rich array of visual periods and sources. Nature was a popular motif that focused on an appreciation of natural forms and the senses—it is evident in the fixture’s entwining vines and acanthus leaves. Most notable are the three figures dressed in Greek-inspired costumes that surround and rise above the central shaft of the fixture. They are cast in a metal alloy, spelter, and have a dark patina.
Local Historical Connections
Depicting “Art, Science, and Industry,” the three allegorical figures represent more than a particular style of decoration. These concepts, pivotal in the psyche of the nation, were also primary to the life and family of Robert Campbell. Campbell had little to no money when he came to America and, as the youngest son, would inherit little from his family. He had to make his own way, and therefore exemplified industry and enterprise. Many traveled West in the 1800s, but Campbell’s explorations yielded new treaties, forts, and partnerships. When he returned to St. Louis, he set up numerous business enterprises. In addition to the fur trade and outfitting trade expeditions, he lent money and invested the money he made. He created bank accounts for African-Americans to whom banks denied access. Scientific innovation and fine art filled his home. His $69 million fortune supported and sustained his family until his last child died in 1938.
National Historical Connections
This chandelier was made in Philadelphia by Cornelius and Baker. Gas fixtures and the first patents for commercial use began in Germany in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. In 1810, David Melville was the first in the United States to receive a patent for a gas light. During the 1800s many American cities had gas lights on their streets, but by 1879 Thomas Edison perfected his patent for an incandescent light bulb. By the turn of the nineteenth century, electric lighting began to replace gas lights in homes.
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