Maurice Chandelier is a destination for anyone captivated by the elegance and history of Continental antiques, especially lighting. Spanning an impressive 15,000 square feet, this showroom has a treasure trove of meticulously restored chandeliers, sconces, clocks, statuary, furniture and decorative items.
The company’s story begins in 1986 with Armando Delgado, who gave up being a physician to follow his passion. “When I was a young man, I went to study medicine in Argentina, and while I was there, I worked in an auction house,” he says. “I fell in love with the world of antiques. I graduated as a physician specializing in dermatology, but then I decided to quit and pursue this treasure-hunting expedition, the antiques world. I don’t regret the choice, although I very much disappointed my parents.”
Delgado’s wife was from Tennessee and didn’t want to move too far from her roots. “I wanted a large city, and I had established relationships with important dealers in Atlanta, so we ended up here,” he says.
Thirty-eight years later, Maurice Chandelier still offers an extensive array of European, including French, English and Italian, antiques. When he started the business, Delgado’s acquisitions came from his extensive travels, especially to South America, where a lot of French objects ended up at the turn of the 20th century. “I traveled incessantly,” he says. “Now I don’t travel anymore; I have buyers acquiring things for me, which is convenient. And they’ve been working with me for over 30 years. They know what I’m looking for.”
In the early years of the business, Delgado had to send a courier to look at potential items. Later, the company was able to receive photos in black and white via fax. “My phone bill was $2,000 a month,” he says. “Now I can get pictures in seconds. Of course, you still have to go examine the item because there are people who won’t show you a restoration or a poorly repaired break. You still have to have the personal touch.”
Today’s technology works in the buyer’s favor because it allows Delgado to keep his inventory fresh. “We have dramatic examples of the best antique lighting you can find on the Eastern Seaboard. From Maine to Florida, I have the biggest collection of fine antique lighting. And, when I sell something here, I can buy something to replace it today,” he says. “Sometimes I buy more than I sell, but that’s common to antiques dealers; we’re always broke because we constantly buy more than we sell. There’s a saying, ‘It’s easy to get into the antiques business. You can have $1,000 and one chair to start, but when you die you will have a thousand chairs and $1.’”
The company’s antiques are always high-quality and ready to move into a home. “We try to buy items that don’t need heroic restorations. We clean, rewire and redo crystal work in our workshop here. Most of the metalwork is done overseas,” Delgado says.
After decades in the business, Delgado still loves antique lighting. “Things were made better in the past,” he says. “You can see it in the workmanship of the chandeliers. It’s incredible—the tremendous detail and the countless hours spent making something absolutely perfect. You can hardly believe someone did it with a chisel. It’s impossible to do it today with that level of quality without spending an absolute fortune, but that was the standard then.”
Delgado has a wide range of clients, from people of modest means to the incredibly wealthy. “I have things for every size of pocket,” he says. “I have sold to the super demanding, the very wealthy and the famous. We have been to the homes of celebrities. They’re very happy because we have unique pieces; some of our chandeliers came from palaces.”
People can shop online and in person, though the website has only a fraction of what’s in the store. “Some clients I never meet. We pack, crate and ship anywhere in the world. We have sent things back to Europe many times!” he says, laughing. “Some things have been in my shop three times; I sold them and bought them back, sold them again and bought them back. People get old, they sell their big homes and things come back to me.”
In addition to antique lighting, furniture and decorative items, the showroom carries clocks and garnitures, which are traditional sets of decorative accessories typically placed on a mantel. “I have a collection of fine French mantel clocks unparalleled in the South. Some people just come to admire them,” Delgado says.
Browsing and admiring the treasures is part of the fun when visiting the showroom. “We have objects by Jean Beurdeley and his son, Alfred Beurdeley, who used to make things for the kings of France,” he says. “And by Pierre-Philippe Thomire, who did bronze and gild work for Buckingham Palace. We have things made by the famous Jean-François and Guillaume Denière, and a chandelier made by F&C Osler, who made lighting for British royalty.”
When asked if he has any favorite pieces, Delgado can’t choose, though he is particularly fond of a 19th-century gilt bronze chandelier he’s had for a decade. “I love every item because I bought everything myself. But this chandelier is truly out of this world,” he says.
The longtime treasure hunter does have a sweet story about a favorite find. “More than 30 years ago, a man bought several things from me,” he says. “He wanted me to take a boxed automaton as partial payment. It was ornate with enamel, and when you wind and activate it, here comes a little bird that sings like a real bird. It’s so little, just one inch high, it sings, and its beak moves, then it goes back down into the box. It was made by a Swiss man called Charles Bruguier. I took the box in trade equal to $16,000, and it was going to be part of my profit. However, I made the mistake of showing it to my kids, who were very little at the time. They said, ‘Dad, please don’t sell the birdie!’ Many times, I had to take it to school for show-and-tell. The birdie was famous. Now, my sons are 38 and 34, and I have a grandchild. She always asks me to show her the birdie when I see her. I shared with a friend a video of me showing my grandchild the birdie; he asked if I had investigated its current worth. I hadn’t, but I looked, and now the box is worth $78,000. I told my son, ‘If someone comes here with $60,000 or $70,000, they’re going to get the birdie! Sometimes you collect things because they are sweet to your heart, and sometimes they reward you with a great surprise.”
Delgado, who took a risk leaving medicine to pursue his passion, has been rewarded with a fulfilling life. “I love my business. I love what I do,” he says. “When I sell something to someone, it’s like sending one of my children somewhere. When I visit people’s houses and see something I’ve sold them, it gives me a sense of warmth. My chandeliers have given light to celebrations, Thanksgivings and Christmases. They are in the family pictures. I am so happy that something of mine has been a part of the happiest moments of my clients’ lives.” *
Robin Howard is a freelance writer in Charleston. See more of her work at robinhowardwrites.com.
