WAS Benson A Rare Arts & Crafts Brass Dining, Billiard or Snooker chandelier

W A S Benson. An exceptional and extremely rare Arts and Crafts brass billiard or snooker table chandelier which would also work perfectly as a dining table light, hall light lounge light. This is probably the only one of this model known to exist and arguably one of the very best chandeliers he ever designed. Benson was the leading British lighting designer and manufacturer of the Arts and Crafts period and as a time served engineer myself, to make such a fine brass light of this magnitude in the late 1890's was a brilliant feat of engineering that could have only been achieved by someone so ahead of his time and at the very top of his field. The light is shown with a very rare set of six Arts and Crafts Vaseline/Uranium glass shades with stylised floral acid etched decoration, of which there are two more available to make a set of eight if required, they all retain their original brass galleries with stylised leaf decorations. THIS BENSON CHANDELIER ( WITHOUT THE VASELINE/URANIUM SHADES ) IS PRICED AT GBP 48,000 WITH THE SHADES GBP 60,000. The Vaseline/Uranium shades shown with this light are listed on 1stdibs for sale separately priced at GBP 18,000. Measurements : The height can be hung 37" from the ceiling as shown in the images or there is another original extension bar with more original brass stays (which you can see in the images). These can make the height from the ceiling 72". The shades can be hung at any height by adjusting the cables below the arms to ones preference. Overall Length 92", Overall Width 36". C1895. WAS Benson met Sir Edward Burne-Jones in the 1880’s, and would become great friends. He encouraged Benson's interest in making things, and Benson set up his first workshop not too far from where Burne-Jones lived and it is said that Benson designed and made much of the romantic, chivalric armour, crowns and models of ships, that appear in Burne-Jones' paintings. In a letter to his mother Benson wrote "the long and the short of it is, I must make something or be miserable. I think there's every chance of profit as well as pleasure". He supplied Morris and Co with lighting for their interior commissions and also sold through the Morris and Co shops. Incidentally Benson became the manager of Morris and Co after Morris died in 1896.