Candlestick (one of a pair)
Sheffield, England
c. 1808
Measurements
11-1/4 in x 5-7/8 in x 4-3/4 in
Materials
Fused silver on copper, iron base
Credit Line
Historic Odessa Foundation, The David Wilson Mansion, Inc.
Accession Number
1971.1526
Inscription
"AJ" is engraved in foliate script on one side of the ovoid baluster in the center of the shaft.
Condition Notes
The silver has worn through to the copper along edges and on the raised decoration around the base and the candle cup. Stick 1971.1526.2 appears to have had a break, now repaired, above the disk immediately above the base. The seam joining the two sections of that disk has opened slightly.
Provenance
Ex coll. Mrs. E. Tatnall (Mary Corbit) Warner. The pair of candlesticks is part of a group of objects that can be tied directly to Ann Jefferis (1791-1822), who married David Wilson Jr. about 1808, by the engraved initials and the provenance. For further details, see the hot-water urn, accession no. 1971.550, and a coffee service, accession nos. 1972.108-.111.
Comments
Each of the pair of large candlesticks has a bold baluster shape in the middle of the shaft. The baluster is ovoid in cross-section, conforming to the oval shape of the domed foot, the candle cup, and the removable bobeche. Decorative bands of narrow, side-by-side triangles formed by parallel ribs encircle the top of the candle cup and the top of the base. Each stick bears the engraved initials “AJ” for Ann Jefferis. Other objects in the collection that were likely also part of her 1808 wedding gifts are a coffee service, accession nos. 1972.108-.111, and a hot-water urn, accession no. 1971.550.
The candlesticks have sheets of iron inside the bases to weight and stabilize them.
