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Thomas Coulborn & Sons
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Dimensions
130.00cm high
( 51.18 inches high)
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Description / Expertise
With four tiers of twisted shepherd's crook arm decorations emanating from two gilt glass pans with urn shaped dividers, incorporating beaded strings and shaped drops, all supported by the original sold steel shaft, some minor replacements, restrung.
The Real Fábrica de la Granja was granted its first Royal licence in 1727. This was necessary as it was founded on Crown land at the royal palace of La Granja de San Ildefonso, in the region of Segovia near Madrid. In 1736 it was then put under Royal Protection due to the needs for glass in various palaces that were being constructed, but it was King Felipe IV who, inspired by the Royal Factories founded by his grandfather King Louis XIV of France, decided to increase the range and quality of the produce. He travelled to France in 1745 in search of master glass makers to bring back to Spain to launch new projects at the foundary. These artesans brought a French influence to the style of pieces being produced, which had previously been influenced almost exclusively by Venetian glass.
In the last quarter of the 18th Century the emphasis shifted to a more English style. English and Irish glass makers had shown themselves to be superior and through the Príncipe de Asturias, later to be Carlos IV, and indeed the Duque de Fernán Núñez, ambassador to London, the workers at La Granja began to adopt a more English style. Joshua Ketilby, was known to have visited the factory at this time to advise on the composition of crystal glass and he stayed for four years, although the Spanish masters claimed that he taught them "nothing new".
Amongst the wide and varied production at La Granja, that of chandeliers was considered amongst the most important. A similar model to the present work can be found at the Iglesia de San Andrés, Segovia, but it is sadly deteriorated and incomplete, and the same can be said of an example at the Museo de Artes Decorativos in Madrid. There is a later but more complete version in the collection of the Marqués de Lozoya in Segovia.
Examples of other types of glasswork from the same period from La Real Fábrica de la Granja can be found at the Victoria and Albert Museum, London, the Royal Palace, Madrid, the Prado, Madrid, and The Hermitage, Moscow.
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