Artist: Dale Chihuly
Description: Gilded Silver and Gold Ice Chandelier with Ruby Accents
Medium: Hand Blown Glass
Size: 6' x 6', 200+ piece chandelier
Year: C. 2004
Edition: Original (unique chandelier)
Documentation: Original Chihuly Receipt and Contract for the commission, dated 2004 at a price of $160,000+
Includes: Professional packaging and shipping; Professional engineering and Installation
There is a good reason why Dale Chihuly is one of the most esteemed glass artists in the world today. With his small-scale series, he is definitely a favorite among collectors, but it was his large-scale work that brought him worldwide fame. Chihuly is particularly celebrated for his spatial installations that create captivating experiences with their treatment of light, color, form, and space. His spatial work can be seen around the world, while the dimensions of his multiform compositions range from smaller hanging pieces to impressive architectural projects. It’s precisely in these works that Chihuly’s fascination with gardens and the floral world culminates, while each of these works is made as a special commission, created for one specific location, either in a private home or a public institution.
Among his site-specific works, Chandeliers are probably the most flexible. Although large, they are essentially mobile and can be transferred from location to location if necessary. Every Chandelier makes an elaborate composition of hundreds of individually blown glass elements, designed in such a way as to break both artificial and natural light in the most intricate way. It’s worth mentioning that one of Chihuly’s chandeliers hangs in the prestigious Victoria & Albert Museum in London.
Having recently acquired a true rarity from Dale Chihuly's Chandelier oeuvre directly from the first owner, we are proud to offer this gilded silver and gold ice chandelier with ruby accents to our collector community.
This complex piece features subtle silver, gold and bronze tones, punctuated with rich ruby accents, uniting them in one dynamic and harmonious unit. The size and composition are considered an "Evelyn Room Chandelier", the design of which is based upon the artist's own multiple chandelier installation at the Chihuly Boathouse on Lake Union and is one of Chihuly's earliest chandelier designs. Unique, yet universal, this rare piece presents the perfect balance between opulent decoration and elegant scale, which makes it a truly remarkable piece.
This work comes with complete provenance, inclduing the original Chihuly Receipt and Contract for the commission, dated 2004 at a price of more than $160,000. The piece also includes professional packaging and shipping and professional engineering and installation (message us for details!).
About Dale Chihuly
One of the most famous contemporary glass artists in the world, Dale Chihuly is best known for his monumental sculptures and installations. He is the name behind the spectacular ceiling at the Bellagio’s flower garden in Las Vegas and the creator of the Rotunda Chandelier at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London. Glass works of Dale Chihuly are considered some of the most desired collectibles between the decorative arts devotees today. Despite his initial indifference towards education, Chihuly has spent a lot of time in school, obtaining both scientific and artistic degree in sculpture from prestigious graduate schools. He displayed a proclivity for interior design and craft early on, but his true passion was always in the glass. He was a Fulbright Fellow in the late 1960s and an apprentice at the Venini Glass Factory in Venice. Mastering the art of Murano glasswork, he continued the experiments with glassblowing and thus became one of the people who brought the ancient art of glassblowing back into the spotlight on an international scale.
Monumental and small-scale artwork of Dale Chihuly is present in over 200 most renowned decorative art collections today, while the artist holds twelve honorary doctorates!
The most illustrious series in his work are Cylinders and Baskets he created in the 1970s; Macchia, Venetians, and Persians from the 1980s, Niijima Floats and Chandeliers created in the 1990s; and a more recent one, Fiori from the 2000s.
For over 30 years, Dale Chihuly has been acting as an artistic director of his team of craftsmen, since he was incapacitated in two accidents, which left him blind in one eye and incapable of holding the blowing tube. This change allowed him to see the possibilities of glass work on a broader scale, while still maintaining his recognizable style.