Design by Karl Frederick Schinkel
Berlin, probably manufactured by Carl August Mencke, around 1835
The chandelier is made of wood, wood bronze and cast metal. It is originally gilt and decorated with crystal hangings.
This combination of materials is typical for the works of Mencke's manufactory, who had patented a process for producing a wood-like mass, so-called wood bronze, by King Frederick Wilhelm II in 1815.
A comparable chandelier, also attributed to Schinkel, can be found in the living room of the “garlic house” in Berlin (Berlin Municipal Museum Foundation).
Provenance: From the estate of the descendants of Frederick Ludwig Mecklenburg (1821-1884), ennobled in 1871, who was probably a son of Grand Duke Frederick Franz I of Mecklenburg-Schwerin and married to Bertha von Hünerbein.
Cf. Klappenbach/Hartmann/Kropmanns, Kronleuchter des 17. bis 20. Jahrhunderts, Regensburg 2019, pp. 188-189 and 195-200, fig. 113.
Height: 120 cm, diameter: 120 cm