One of the most elegant additions that you can make to your home is a wagon wheel chandelier or vintage iron chandelier. A great fixture like this can completely change the look of a room because when most people think of chandeliers they think of the large silver or gold colored crystal monstrosity’s heroes swing from in movies. Huge ball rooms and formal dining rooms come to mind. The truth is the there are many types of chandelier and the chandeliers that most people think of are actually quite rare.
The original chandeliers were made for castles in the Middle Ages and were made of wood. It was not long however before iron chandeliers started showing up and black iron is still to this day the most common chandelier. The wrought iron chandelier was used for many centuries to provide light for spaces and rooms of all sizes and was not considered special lighting. Although expensive for the time, most homes used wooden chandeliers when they had them, they were very common, especially in Northern Europe but there are examples as far south as Italy.
Despite the fact that they were so common many of these antiques did not survive for one reason or another and finding one can be a tough job and when you do find one you can expect to pay a good price for it. Before you go shopping however you will want to use the internet to learn how to identify a real antique iron chandelier from a copy or fake. Some have been wired for electricity and some have not.
The internet is a great recourse for finding vintage chandeliers also. There are antique vendors available and web sites like eBay and Craigslist have a fairly good selection of antiques and chandeliers are a common item. Like any other purchase you will want to make sure you get a certificate of authenticity and a money back guarantee if you are dissatisfied for any reason.
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Tags: chandelier, vintage chandeliers, vintage iron chandelier