Alantė Valtaitė-Gagač (PDF)
https://doi.org/10.53631/MIS/2024.15.5
The article introduces the unique deer-head-shaped chandeliers common in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and the Kingdom of Poland in the seventeenth century. Art historians have hardly studied these exotic works of applied art. Therefore, they deserve more attention.
Chandeliers made from antlers fall into three distinct types: solely antler-based, those with sculptural parts and animal antlers, and deer-head with antlers. The first type was popular in manor houses across Europe, including examples found in estates like the Apytalaukis and Beržėnai manors in Lithuania in the nineteenth century. The second type, combining sculptural elements and various animal antlers, originated in Europe in the fourteenth century and was prevalent in Germany, France, the Netherlands and neighbouring countries. Deer-head chandeliers were especially common in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and the Kingdom of Poland in the seventeenth century.
Currently, only two deer-head chandeliers are known to survive in Lithuania. One chandelier originated from the Zapyškis church, and another, a fragmentary head found in Alsėdžiai, was dated to the early seventeenth century. The origin of the second chandelier is unknown. Probably, it adorned a local church or a bishop’s residence. Both wares are housed in the National M. K. Čiurlionis Art Museum.
Although only two deer-head chandeliers have survived, written sources indicate that they were common in Lithuanian sacred and secular interiors. Deer-head chandeliers were, in all cases, made of wood, whereas the branches with candlesticks on the horns were made of iron. Their number varied greatly: two or three, six, eight, twelve or even fourteen branches/candlesticks.
Tracing the origins of these chandeliers, it is important to mention that hunting was treated as the exclusive right of the feudal lords and the Grand Duke in the legal acts of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. Therefore, the horns were of special significance as the ruler’s hunting trophy. According to written sources, a shield with an inscription or the coat of arms of the benefactors was sometimes attached to the head of the deer.
According to Psalm 42, the deer is also an image of a man thirsty for God in Christianity. Moreover, the deer is very closely associated with the legendary biographies of St Eustachius and St Hubert. The tradition of devotion to St Hubert was brought to Poland by the Teutonic Order. There were several places of veneration for this saint near Toruń, so the appearance of deer-head chandeliers in Poland may be related to the devotion to St Hubert.
When explaining the distribution of deer-head chandeliers in Lithuania, it is important to mention that no images or altars dedicated to St Hubert or St Eustachius could be found in the ecclesiastical documents of Lithuanian churches. Therefore, deer-head chandeliers in Lithuania should be associated with the broader Christian cultural and heraldic traditions of the time.
Keywords: horns, cartouche, coat of arms, Melusine, St Hubert, St Eustachius