Dallas writer David Feld, who's been living and working in New York and Connecticut for the past year, read Allan Knight's comment on my blog about the Z Gallerie crystal galleon chandelier. Here's what David had to say (again, thanks to everyone who voices opinions on my blog, I love it!)
Rebecca:
I always thought the first "galleon" chandelier was created by Bagues in the 1920s. So Allan Knight's meeting the creator of the "original" meant she must be very very old or that it was a very very long time ago.
Then I doubted my own freakish "decor" recall-ability and hit Google. Crystal "ship"chandeliers in the search bar produced a number of hits on the subject, including this early 20th Century Italian number:
And, here's another one from the 1920s, found in the home of Jennifer Nicholson.
So without a definitive study, I presume that these chandeliers have existed in one form or another since the design of the Galleon itself which sets it sometime prior to Columbus. It's fair to agree that the contention that the chandelier has an "originator" is lost to the depths of design history (pardon the aquatic pun).
What makes Z Gallery so awful in comparison to say, Target, except marketing? It's hard to rail against "big box" retailers when they've done so much to uplift our collective national taste. The past 40 years or so since Laura Ashley first made "English country charm" affordable to the masses has been a golden age of taste. People at all income levels are now both interested and able to have good design in almost every aspect of their lives -- from towels to toilet bowl brushes.
Aren't our aspirational natures part of the beauty of this country? Every little girl or boy can grow up to be president and have de Gournay on their walls.
Best,
David
P.S. That Z Gallerie galleon chandelier is hideous, by the way. Here's someone who's sick of galleons, too.
