Pair of candlesticks
Though candles were necessary to illuminate the dinner table—the meal was served at around 8:30 or 9pm in mid-eighteenth-century London—hosts also wanted to awe their guests with the quantity of candles, and exceptional quality of the candlesticks, on display. These Neoclassical examples were adapted from a pattern by William Kent, one of the first architects to also design furniture and interior fittings, by the renowned silversmith Edward Wakelin. Employing a technique brought to England by Huguenot craftsmen (fleeing France after the revocation of the Edict of Nantes in 1685), the candlesticks were cast in sections from carved wood molds and soldered together. Originally part of a set of four, they were made for Croome Court, the 6th Earl of Coventry’s country seat; its Tapestry Room is now on view in the British Galleries (Gallery 514).
Artwork Details
- Title: Pair of candlesticks
- Maker: Edward Wakelin (British, active before 1748, died 1784)
- Designer: After a pattern by William Kent (1685–1748)
- Date: 1757/58
- Culture: British, London
- Medium: Silver
- Dimensions: Overall (.1 confirmed): 12 3/4 x 6 3/8 x 6 1/4 in., 46 oz. 14 dwt. (32.4 x 16.2 x 15.9 cm, 1.4535kg);
Overall (.2 confirmed): 12 5/8 x 6 3/8 x 6 3/8 in., 46 oz. 11 dwt. (32.1 x 16.2 x 16.2 cm, 1.449kg) - Classification: Metalwork-Silver
- Credit Line: Wrightsman Fund, 2003
- Object Number: 2003.420.1, .2
- Curatorial Department: European Sculpture and Decorative Arts
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