I love it when a product sends me off to the dictionary, or the encyclopedia, or whatever on-line repository of wisdom and information happens to be in my purview. Such is the case today given the varied and multifarious conundrums of the Calliope Chandelier by manufacturer Eleek Inc. So here’s the goods on the meaning of that term, which I most associate with the giant musical contraption at the center of many-a carousel: the musical connotations are grounded in Greek myth. Calliope, which translates as “beautiful voiced,” was the daughter of Zeus and the wisest of the Muses, best known for the irresistible pull of their song. The Calliope of circus fame was (is) a musical instrument that forces steam or compressed air through metal pipes (originally locomotive whistles), renowned for its impressive volume—many calliopes were audible for miles around.

Calliope Chandelier. Designed by Eleek Inc.

Etched Glass and Iridescent Illumination

The metaphor is apropos of Eleek’s impressive lightpiece, since its hundred+ squares of art glass appear to reflect the world back on itself, thus, from a certain perspective, becoming visible from miles around. In fact, the chandelier’s surface is not reflective but rather contains its own mysterious luminosity. The “clipped” squares of glass that constitute its surface each contain hypnotic modulations and oscillations of all the colors of the rainbow. Cobbled together, as they are, to create Calliope’s globe shape, they create a dizzyingly beautiful panoply of refracted ambient light.

Eleek—fond of imaginative metaphors in their own right—describe Calliope as “a flower bud about to bloom… or an alien starseed blowing across the galaxy in search of fertile ground. If it were a film it would be City of Lost Children.” That’s a nice choice to be sure, but alternatively I’d go with Amelie (coincidentally, the same director) for its colorful, quirky, off-kilter aspect, whose charms, like those of Calliope, pull you out of your complacency and into its own elegant orbit.

Calliope is made of 100% recycled aluminum, steel, art glass, and etched borosilicate glass lenses. Finishes include customized art glass colors, optional artistic patinas, and powdercoats.