Candlestick
Birmingham, England
1790-1820
or possibly significantly later
Measurements
10 in x 3-7/8 in x 3-7/8 in
Materials
Brass
Credit Line
Historic Odessa Foundation, The David Wilson Mansion, Inc.
Accession Number
1971.803
Condition Notes
The candlestick was broken apart just below the urn-shaped candle socket. The break occurred before 1971. It was restored in January 2026.
Provenance
Ex coll. Mrs. E. Tatnall (Mary Corbit) Warner
Comments
This candlestick displays the inverted and tapered shaft popular among neoclassical-style candlesticks. A decorative band encircles the top of the shaft, and the candle socket assumes an urn shape. The whole stands on a flared pyramidal base with beaded ornament. The general design of this candlestick relates to plate 28 in a group of 24 engraved pages forming an anonymous English brass-founder's catalogue or pattern book of candlesticks. No identification accompanies the plates, but several have 1797 watermarks dating the paper. The plates were published privately as Brass Candlesticks by English brass dealer Rupert Gentle in 1973.
The decorative features of this candlestick exceed normal practices and raise the possibility that it was made ata a later date as a reproduction. The excessive features include the molded rim of the integral bobeche or drip pan (usually unmolded), the multiple stepped molding above the band at the top of the shaft, the band itself is a reel rather than a simple band, the beaded moldings on the base have an extra beaded band at the very bottom of the shaft. Also, the ribbing of the urn-shaped socket is uneven.
