Pink erbium glass, gold leaf; mold-blown, blown, and hotworked glass.

Dale Chihuly is an internationally celebrated personality in contemporary art and design. In 1992, on the occasion of his retrospective exhibition at the Seattle Art Museum, Chihuly made his first chandelier. Today, his monumental chandeliers are found in collections around the world. In 1993, Dan Schwoerer and Lani McGregor—owners of Bullseye Glass Company, a glass factory in Portland, OR—asked Chihuly to make a chandelier for them. The chandelier was commissioned to commemorate a special melt of pink glass at Bullseye, which was colored with the rare-earth element erbium. The cotton-candy color of the glass happened to be the same color as Chihuly’s favorite pickup truck, which sealed the deal. Erbium Chandelier was created with the help of Lino Tagliapietra, Josiah McElheny, and Bryan Rubino. Each of the 205 elements of Erbium Chandelier was dipped into a patterned mold while the glass was molten, and then blown into a curling form or a leaflike shape. The elements were then wired onto a steel basket-like structure. A small gilt putto or cupid, hot-sculpted out of solid glass, hangs from the bottom of the chandelier. Two large preparatory drawings for this chandelier, made by Chihuly, were also given to the Museum by the Bullseye Glass Company.