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Source Description

This bizarre creation originally had little candleholders attached to the antlers. Chandeliers made from wooden half-figures with elk antlers attached at their backs called "Lüstermännchen" or "Lüsterweibchen," literally "little chandelier man" or "woman" were popular in Germany. Even major artists such as Tilman Riemenschneider designed them. They hung in town meeting halls, inns, hunting lodges and domestic spaces. While the spreading forms of antlers may have suggested its use as a natural chandelier, the addition of a half figure is the kind of hybrid creation that appealed to the medieval taste for fantasy. Many of the existing chandeliers represent a woman holding a coat of arms (with the antlers growing from her back). The motif of a huntsman praying is unusual and may allude to the story of St. Hubert, a huntsman who came across a miraculous stag in the forest and fell on his knees before it in prayer.

Scholar Source Context

Document identity
localId
20434
label
Chandelier
core
obj
dtoType
object
pageCount
2
Source metadata
id
20434
contentType
object
stage
normalized
title
Chandelier
description
This bizarre creation originally had little candleholders attached to the antlers. Chandeliers made from wooden half-figures with elk antlers attached at their backs called "Lüstermännchen" or "Lüsterweibchen," literally "little chandelier man" or "woman" were popular in Germany. Even major artists such as Tilman Riemenschneider designed them. They hung in town meeting halls, inns, hunting lodges and domestic spaces. While the spreading forms of antlers may have suggested its use as a natural chandelier, the addition of a half figure is the kind of hybrid creation that appealed to the medieval taste for fantasy. Many of the existing chandeliers represent a woman holding a coat of arms (with the antlers growing from her back). The motif of a huntsman praying is unusual and may allude to the story of St. Hubert, a huntsman who came across a miraculous stag in the forest and fell on his knees before it in prayer.
provenance
William Randolph Hearst [date and mode of acquisition unknown]; Blumka Gallery, New York; Mr. and Mrs. James O. Anderson, 1971, by purchase; Walters Art Museum, June 8, 1971, by gift.
date
ca. 1500 (Late Medieval)
rightsUri
CC0
language
en
genreSpecific
Wood
chandeliers
imageCount
2
pageCount
2
source
import
dimensions
units
cm
width
72.5
height
67.5
dimensionsRaw
28 9/16 x 26 9/16 in. (72.5 x 67.5 cm)
Source extras
cul
German
style
Gothic
med
painted wood and elk horn
creator_ids
6211
collection_ids
MED
REN
exhibition_ids
1994
Page inventory
seq
1
type
photo
mediaId
0c97e53fde0b2b57
hasOcr
no
hasDescription
no
seq
2
type
photo
mediaId
2f1f13109c228110
hasOcr
no
hasDescription
no