Candlestick
Europe, possibly France
1730-1760
or significantly later
Measurements
8-1/4 in x 4-5/8 in (dia)
Materials
Brass
Credit Line
Historic Odessa Foundation, gift of H. Rodney Sharp
Accession Number
1959.3558
Condition Notes
The candlestick has been electrified.
Provenance
Ex coll. H. Rodney Sharp
Comments
The candlestick has a slightly tapered candle socket with a thick ring at the top but no bobeche to catch candle drippings. The socket has a hole in the side to dig out a candle stub. The shaft features a six-sided flaring section in the middle. The shaft stands atop a domed and scalloped base. The scalloping is created by three repeats of opposed ogees with a short and shallow hollow section separating them.
The candlestick is a heavy casting. It is not cast in halves and seamed, nor does it have skimming marks on the inside of the base. These characteristics introduce the possibility that the candlestick was made later, perhaps by 100 years or more.
The candlestick is very similar to another, accession no. 1959.3559. This stick is slightly smaller than 1959.3559, and the domed base has a single ridge around the outer edge rather than two. There is also a slight difference in the modeling of the top of the hexagonal section: this one has six alternating long and short sides (creating truncated triangles in plan) rather than six equal sides. Given that these differences indicate different molds rather than differences in finishing, it is hard to imagine why a brass founder would have two candle molds so much alike.
