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Nine-light candelabrum

Paul Storr British
1835–36
Not on view
This immense centerpiece rests on a triangular base with sloping sides and figures of children at each corner, rising to a triangular platform to which is bolted the candelabrum proper. Three substantial scrolling feet support a second platform from which rises a shaft supporting three branches, each with three candle arms—creating nine lights overall. Rising through the middle of the candle arms are a group of large scrolls on which stands the crest of the Herbert family—a wyvern with outspread wings. The candelabrum was made for Robert Herbert, twelfth earl of Pembroke and Montgomery; his initials, PM, are ensigned by an earl's coronet on the sides of the base. The wyvern is not uncommon in British heraldry. It is a mythical monster with two eagle's legs ending in large talons, a dragon's head, batlike wings, and a long tapering tail ending in a narrow point.

The candelabrum is an example of a second phase of the Rococo—that style of the eighteenth century which reached its greatest development in the use of asymmetry almost a century before this piece was made. Here the difference is in the symmetrical combination of asymmetrical, smaller units, such as scrolls and large leaf forms, as well as the two little cupids who seem to be pursuing on a spiral path one little Psyche, who ascends the central shaft holding a rose. Added to the grand scale and presence of many diverse elements are the brilliantly burnished gilt surfaces alternating with other areas that are matte or broken up with ornament such as trellis panels.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Nine-light candelabrum
  • Maker: Paul Storr (British, 1771–1844)
  • Date: 1835–36
  • Culture: British, London
  • Medium: Silver, gilt
  • Dimensions: Overall (confirmed): 40 1/2 × 27 1/2 × 27 1/2 in. (102.9 × 69.9 × 69.9 cm)
  • Classification: Metalwork-Silver
  • Credit Line: Bequest of Rupert L. Joseph, 1959
  • Object Number: 60.55.10a–s
  • Curatorial Department: European Sculpture and Decorative Arts

More Artwork

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Base for nine-light candelabrum
Paul Storr
1838–39
Sugar bowl (part of a set), Paul Storr British, Silver-gilt, British, London
Sugar bowl (part of a set)
Paul Storr
Rundell, Bridge and Rundell
1813/14
Cream jug (part of a set), Paul Storr British, Silver-gilt, British, London
Cream jug (part of a set)
Paul Storr
Rundell, Bridge and Rundell
1812/13
Hot water jug, Paul Storr British, Silver, wood, British, London
Hot water jug
Paul Storr
1807–8
Nine-light candelabrum, Paul Storr British, Silver, British, London
Nine-light candelabrum
Paul Storr
1838–39

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