How it works
A chandelier hangs by a chain from a canopy at the ceiling, and its lights sit at the ends of arms that spring from a central stem. This drawing names each part on the way down.
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From the ceiling down
The canopy covers the ceiling box. Under it is the screw collar loop, which the chain hangs from. The bottom link hooks into the loop on top of the stem, the turned shaft down the middle. The arms curve out from the stem, and the finial finishes its lower end.
The end of an arm
Each arm ends in a bobeche, a shallow dish first made to catch candle wax. Glass drops hang from its rim. A candle cover stands in the dish, and a flame-shaped bulb screws in at the top.
- Arm and branch mean the same part; so do bobeche and drip pan.
- On a glass chandelier, canopy can also mean a shallow dish at the top of the chandelier itself.
Questions and answers
What are the parts of a chandelier called?
From the top: the canopy at the ceiling, the chain, the loop, the central stem, the arms and the finial. Each arm ends in a bobeche, often hung with glass drops, under a candle-shaped light.
What is the dish under a chandelier candle called?
A bobeche, or drip pan. It is a dish fitted just below the candle to catch drips of wax, and on crystal chandeliers the drops hang from it.
What are the crystals on a chandelier called?
Drops. A drop is a small piece of cut glass, drilled at one end so it can hang on a pin. A straight, many-sided drop is called a prism.
What is the part of a chandelier that covers the ceiling called?
The canopy. It sits against the ceiling and covers the ceiling box and the wire connections. The chain hangs from a loop just under it.