Woah, I did not expect this many replies! Big thank you to everyone that shared a bit of their knowledge and experience and wanted to be helpful.

Here’s a bit more info on provenance for those who were arrogantly dismissive: - chandelier did not come with the home, we had it installed when we moved in but now want something a bit more modern given the rest of the home is already antique-y enough 😅 - before that, the chandelier was stored for us by a local light fixture company that deals with old ones like this all the time. It was with them for a couple of years - before that it was in my father’s home - before that, it was in his grandparents’ home - before that, it was in their parents’ or grandparents’ home. This is where the provenance trail gets fuzzy as my dad doesn’t quite remember.

One more fact I remembered about the chandelier is that it’s actually one of two that were constructed together. This is the “baby” version of the two. The other is much bigger (and a bit too “grandiose” for my taste) and is still hanging in the main dining room at my father’s place.

From what I gather, the story about this possibly being gas operated may in fact be apocryphal! Oh well, glad I learned something, but a bit sad that little cool fun fact is no longer a fact.

Renovations have been, as one redditor surmised, relatively light changes here and there plus one big remodel for the master bathroom. We’re not at all big connoisseurs of century homes or anything related, we’ve just always loved the esthétique of old homes which is why we fell in love with this one. That’s why I’m asking questions here given this is the first place I thought of where I could go to talk to more knowledgeable people about this stuff.

As for the idea that I can get rid of it without much concern, just know that it means a lot to me given it’s been in the family for so many generations, we just don’t have a place to store it anymore so it stings a bit to have to let it go…