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Neo-Grec Chandelier by Bradley & Hubbard, 1874 (the Gaslight Collection of Dan & Nancy Mattausch)
Large Neo-Grec Chandelier by Bradley & Hubbard, 1874 (the Gaslight Collection of Dan & Nancy Mattausch)
Out-Of-This-World Style
When our Syracuse was shown to a group of architects working on a government restoration project they said, "Ahhh...Klingon Empire." And we must admit that to an unfamiliar eye, Neo-Grec lighting can make you wonder what planet it came from. Thus it can be surprising to learn that for most of the 1870s, Neo-Grec was arguably the most popular decorative style in the United States. This was the beginning of the Gilded Age, when industrialists and financiers made wealthy by post-Civil War business expansion sought to out-build and out-spend their neighbors with large and ornate homes outfitted in the very latest trends and technologies, and Neo-Grec fit the bill as progressive and stylish
Feeling Gilt-y
Our Syracuse is based on an original fixture attributed to R. Hollings, of Boston, and duplicates its rich brown finish with bright-brass highlights. Hollings was not as large as its more famous contemporaries--Mitchell Vance, Archer & Pancoast, and Cornelius Bros. for instance--and there are no known Hollings catalogues from this era. For reference, we include examples of similarly styled fixtures as presented in 1874 by Bradley & Hubbard, at right.
The Neo-Grec style was popular across the decorative arts, seeing expression in everything from mantel clocks that resembled miniature onyx temples with gilt goddesses to bronze doorknobs sporting finely sculpted profiles of Greek maidens and helmeted warriors.
