Collections · By finish

Antique Brass Pendant Lights at KES

167 pendants in aged and antique brass, including the Marietta family we sell more of than anything.

Hinkley Collier 4 Light Pendant Light in Heritage Brass, lit, in a styled room. Editorial image for the Antique Brass Pendant Lights collection.

The Marietta, and everything around it

Endon's Marietta is the pendant people arrive here looking for: glass rods on an antique brass frame, from a three light to the Grand 21 light tier. Around it sit the Clifton with crystal, the Berenice, and the Hinkley Collier with its opal drum for anyone who wants the brass without the sparkle.

167 pendants, from £19, nearly a third of them Endon.

What we'd tell you in the showroom

Antique brass and clear glass is the safest pendant choice in the shop, and safe is not a criticism. It works over a farmhouse table and in a Victorian hallway alike, and it will not date the way polished chrome did.

If the room is already busy, choose the Collier. An opal drum gives a clean disc of light with no visible bulbs, and it sits as well with a modern kitchen as with panelling. If the room is plain, let the Marietta do the decorating.

Anne McKenna, senior sales

Antique Brass Pendant Lights

Antique brass is the finish that has carried the last few years of British interiors, and the pendant is where most people start. Over an island, in a hallway, in a pair either side of a bed, it does the job chrome used to do but warmer.

The Marietta effect

If one range explains why this finish took hold, it is Endon's Marietta: antique brass, clear glass, and available as a three light, a five light, a linear bar, a tiered pendant and a flush fitting, so a whole house can be done in one look at different scales. It is comfortably our most popular family and it sits at the centre of this collection.

Beyond one range

There is more here than one family. Aged and heritage brass from Quintiesse, Feiss, Elstead and Diyas, from single pendants under fifty pounds to statement pieces in the thousands.

One practical note. Brands mix their own brass, so two fittings both called antique brass may not match exactly. If you are buying for one room, stay within a range. Across a house, a slight variation is fine and usually reads as intentional.

Antique Brass Pendant Lights Recommendations & Buying Advice

Yes. Antique brass is a deliberately darkened, browner finish made to look aged, where polished brass is bright and yellow and satin brass sits lighter and matt. Tones and names vary by maker, and even within one: Endon uses 'Antique Brass' on the Marietta and 'Brushed Aged Brass' on the Karine. Buying from one range improves the chance of a close match, but compare photographs or ask our team if it matters.

Not always. Antique brass names a colour and finish, and titles often say so: the Novena Sobrado comes in 'Matt Antique Brass Plate' and the Eichholtz Thibaud in 'Antique Brass Finish'. Most pendants here with a material listed have steel bodies. Where the maker gives the material, it is on the product page, so check it if solid brass matters to you rather than relying on the finish name.

Mostly E14 or E27 screw caps, with some B22 bayonet designs, and each product page lists the cap and number needed. Nearly every pendant here is supplied without bulbs. Many have clear glass, such as the Endon Marietta and Clifton, so the bulb is on show: we would choose a warm, decorative bulb that suits the shade, and a dimmable one if the light is on a dimmer. See our vintage light bulbs.

As a starting point, hang them about 75 to 90cm above the worktop, measured to the bottom of the shade, then adjust for shade size and the sightlines across the room. Check the listed minimum and maximum drop against your ceiling height and follow the maker's adjustment instructions; do not assume a rod can be cut or a suspension extended. See all kitchen island lights.

Two or three for most islands, as a starting point. Space them about 60 to 75cm apart between centres and group them within the middle two-thirds of the island, then adjust for shade diameter and island length. On a shorter island, one linear fitting such as the Endon Hansen 3 light is often neater. The Marietta range runs from a single pendant to a 4 light linear, so matching pieces can come from one family.

On a light fitting, we would not polish it. Metal polish is abrasive and can wear through an aged or plated finish, such as the 'Matt Antique Brass Plate' on the Novena Sobrado. Switch off, let the fitting cool and wipe it with a soft dry cloth, following the maker's care instructions. Wash a removable glass shade only where the maker permits, and dry it fully before refitting.

Near a bath or shower, and in a low walkway. The pendants here with an IP rating listed are IP20, which is unsuitable for wet bathroom zones, and a missing rating does not establish suitability. Where people walk, aim for about 2.1m of clear headroom as a starting point, using the fitting's minimum drop on the product page. Under a low ceiling, we would look at a semi-flush design such as the Novena Caroli 3 light instead.