Beautiful pair of Queen Anne brass candlesticks, purportedly de-accessioned from Colonial Williamsburg. This lovely 7 ½” tall pair has seamed construction (developed around 1690), octagonal basses with a stepped foot, graceful knopped bodies and slightly faceted candle cups. What really excites me about these candlesticks is that they have an all over etched design. As expected, the design has mostly worn away after centuries of polishing. You really have to look for it, but once you know it’s there, you’ll show every guest to your house. These brass candlesticks must have made a really elegant statement in the 1720 period in which they adorned their first home. Brass was favored during period times because it could be polished to a bright yellow color that reflected light back into the room (an important thing in days of small windows with only flames to provide light. Because of the need for light reflection, brass was always kept highly polished. Thankfully, today, museums such as Colonial Williamsburg have formulated safe sealants to hold the shine without continuing to polish away the patina (or, in this case, the ornamentation).

Brass candlesticks like this were made both in England and America and it is hard to tell them apart. But, during this early 18th century period, the great majority of them were made in England with many of them being imported to the American market. From the bottom, you can see that one stick has a later soldered repair at the shaft. If you look very, very closely, you will see that one candlecup has been repaired along the collar….but you really have to be inspecting it closely. The candlesticks have collection numbers on the bottom of each. These correspond to the museum acquiring the candlesticks in 1954 and having been assigned numbers 437.1 and 437.2. This type of numbering is very consistent with the collection numbering system of a major museum like Colonial Williamsburg. I find this a really exciting pair of candlesticks.

#5760    Sale Pending

Reference: Butler, Joseph T., Candleholders in America 1650-1900, Crown Publishers, Inc., New York, 1967. 27-37.