Wednesday, February 13, 2013

wiring a hundi lantern

I have been looking for a Hundi lantern for a long time. I found this huge gorgeous one at a local antique shop last summer, fell in love with it. It is signed "Val St.Lambert De Grelle made in Belgium best cyrstal glass" bell jar lantern. I believe it is a 19th century lantern. The hundi lanterns originally were made for the British Colonial and American Colonial homes, it was used in hallways, club houses, palaces, homes etc. The crystal glass has some stains and marks. I love it even more, it gives a character. It has been a while since I bought it, finally my hubby got his hands on it and figured out the wiring...



This is how it looked at the antique shop. I saw it while we were driving past, it was calling to me through that little lime green framed window.




I love the "De GrelleVal St.Lambert made in Belgium best cyrstal glass" etched Logo. It gives even more character. I don't know if every piece is original, the rim has a lighter patina to it. The delaler told me she brought it from a farm house in upstate New York.

#antique #hundilantern #lamp #belgium #belljarlantern #light #lighting #homedecor #interior #interiordecor  #orchid #buddha #chinesecabinet  #ceilinglamp

Here it is, hanging. (Instagram picture)

#hundilantern #belljarlantern #belgium #antique #lamp #ceilinglamp #orchid #homedecor #interior #interiordecor  #chinesecabinet #buddha  #crystal #glass #lantern

You can see scratch marks when it is on. (Instagram picture)

I love it next to my orchid. :)

The wiring story;


These are the original pieces.
 
This is the problem part. Because it was originally a candle lantern, there was no hole on top to put through the electrical wire. We needed to remove the threaded shaft on top and also lose the original hook.
 
Once my husband cut the top piece off, he filed the hole through the glass smoke cap to fit the threaded tube.
 

Here is how it looks from the bottom with the tube.
 
 
We found this old cluster of 3 light sockets. Unfortunatelly the lenght was too short. We replaced it with a longer one.
 
I had to dab a little paint on the pipe to match the cluster lighting. The green patina kit did not work so well, may be I did not know how to work it.
 
The new wire for rewiring and white candle socket covers.
 
Some of the tools used in wiring.
 
The hundi lamp hangs from this unique Turkish hand carved wood ceiling medallion.
 
I hope this helps someone who wants to convert a bell jar lantern to electric.