A monumental Charles IV (1748-1819) crystal, glass and patinated metal thirty-six light chandelier, Spain, Royal manufactory of la Granja, late 18th-early 19th century

Related literature

T. Ruiz Alcon, Vidrios y cristal de la Granja, Madrid, 1985, pp.21 and 25 for thwo chandeliers in the same style.

J.A Hernandez Ferrero and H. Rivas, Les Palais des Rois d'Espagne, Barcelona, 1998, p.315

Philip V of Spain (1683-1746), grandson of Louis XIV, had the Granja palace built in the province of Segovia from 1721 onwards, modelled on the Château de Versailles where he had been born. To decorate the palace, he created the Royal Granja Crystal Factory, which supplied a number of sumptuous chandeliers.

From 1746, French master glassmakers came to Spain to pass on their skills, followed by masters from Germany and Bohemia in 1750. To prevent the spread of manufacturing techniques, the factory housed the master glassmakers, their workers and all their families.

 During the reign of Charles IV, from 1798 to 1808, chandeliers were decorated with geometric pendants and shorter arms, allowing for the creation of superimposed circular rings, as seen on our chandelier. This evolution can be seen in a chandelier design from this period produced by the factory. Charles IV commissioned forty chandeliers of this new model from the factory to illuminate the entrance halls of the Royal Palace of Madrid for his coronation. In 1804, the factory also produced monumental ring chandeliers to decorate the Casita del Labrador (Farmer's House) in the Palace of Aranjuez.

Production continued throughout the 19th century, with major orders for Europe and South America, and continues to this day. A museum and a national glass centre were also created in 1982.