The word flow has just about as many meanings as it should: “to circulate,” “to stream,” “to hang loosely”–this is a case of form following function, because the word flow could not possibly have one meaning (it can’t have one of anything). The new Flow Chandelier by German furniture company Accente lives up to the word’s denotations and connotations. It is a like an infinity symbol gone awry–never-ending, forever looping, a serpent eating its tail.

Flow. Designed by Accente.

What I mean to say is that the round glass pieces continue from one circle to the next, as if created from one long malleable piece. The eight arms of Flow end in faux candles that actually deliver “high voltage halogen.” Despite the swooping look of the eight arms, they are indeed made of mouth-blown crystal. Presented at IMM Cologne 2010, Flow hung in a brilliant pair, further suggesting the chandelier’s perpetual continuity–it made viewers wonder if the lamps could reproduce exponentially, using one giant, yielding coil of crystal.

Accente takes pride in being “Handmade in Germany.” Flow is no exception to their “mastery of premium quality craftsmanship.” It is, as well, a chandelier that perfectly complements Accente’s furniture collection, which is “multi-faceted”: “neither entirely classic nor exclusively modern.” While Flow recalls the traditional silhouette and material of a great chandelier, it also renews the pendant lamp’s shape by using unexpected glass arcs. Hung in groups, Flow changes the nature of the chandelier, which has always been a single, central, eye-catching piece of illumination. As it was shown at IMM Cologne, along with a sleek dining ensemble that included Levo, the wall-mounted sideboard (or “suspended cabinet”), Flow makes chandeliers enter the modern era.