Antique Silver Candle Sticks Pair
These antique silver candle sticks pair selections bring domestic illumination from Georgian, Victorian, and Edwardian parlours into contemporary rooms.
Antique Silver Candle Sticks Pair
An antique silver candle sticks pair comprises matched lighting implements designed for dining tables, mantelpieces, and desks across multiple eras. The most common versions met here span the Georgian, Victorian, and Edwardian periods, including sterling silver and silver plated items.
Makers produced these matching pairs in various heights, from low chamber variants to tall columnar forms and three-light candelabra. Styles range from restrained Neoclassical columns to ornate Rococo Revival and flowing Art Nouveau designs.
Domestic lighting requirements dictated the creation of matching pairs to balance illumination across furniture surfaces. Surviving examples reflect changing interior tastes from the eighteenth century through the early twentieth century.
Materials and Construction
Silversmiths utilised sterling silver or applied silver plate over copper, Old Sheffield Plate, and base metals like pewter, brass, and paktong. Workers also shaped items from carved wood and applied silver leaf to wooden altar pieces.
Techniques involved casting, rolling, and soldering metal components, often incorporating weighted bases to ensure stability. Silver-plated surfaces utilised early fusion methods or later electroplating processes on nickel silver and copper cores.
Some telescopic pairs include tiny hidden mechanisms designed to raise the candle as it burned down during long dinners.
Craftsmanship and Proportion
Superior pairs display crisp casting detail in decorative motifs like acanthus leaves, fluting, and figural cherubs. Balance, weight distribution, and the integrity of the silver or plated surface distinguish finer workshop output.
The precision of assembly, survival of original removable sconces, and clarity of hallmarks or maker stamps indicate higher manufacturing standards. Well-preserved proportions in column shafts and weighted bases separate exceptional examples from standard domestic wares.
Garrard & Co·Mappin & Webb·John Pound & Co·WMF·Ferdinand Barbedienne·Walker & Hall·Hawkesworth Eyre & Co·Elkington & Company
The Antique Silver Candle Sticks Pair Glossary
- Old Sheffield Plate
- A fused metal technique where a thin sheet of silver is fused to a thicker copper core. This method produced durable wares before the invention of electroplating.
- Corinthian Column
- A classical architectural order featuring ornate capitals decorated with acanthus leaves. Many tall candlesticks adopt this column design.
- Removable Sconce
- A detachable pan fitted into the top of a candlestick to catch melting wax. These pieces are frequently lost over time.
- Paktong
- A copper-nickel-zinc alloy originating from China, utilised in eighteenth-century British lighting manufacture for its bright appearance. It mimics silver without requiring plating.
- Silver Gilt
- Silver objects coated with a thin layer of gold on the surface. This technique provides a warm tone and protects the underlying silver from tarnishing.
Antique Silver Candle Sticks Pair: Frequently Asked Questions
How were antique candlesticks used?
Households utilised matched pairs to provide balanced illumination on dining tables, mantelpieces, and writing desks before electric lighting became common.
Servants carried them through hallways and chambers, using low designs or chambersticks to prevent wax drips during movement.
What is Old Sheffield Plate?
Old Sheffield Plate involves fusing a thin layer of silver to a copper base through heat and pressure rather than electricity.
This method created durable items that developed a warm patina, showing subtle traces of copper where the silver layer wore thin through centuries of polishing.
How do I date an antique pair?
Hallmarks stamped into sterling silver pieces reveal the exact assay office, city, and year of manufacture for British items.
Stylistic cues such as neoclassical columns, art nouveau curves, or Georgian proportions help narrow the date range for unmarked plated pieces.
Are removable sconces important?
Removable top pans catch melting wax and protect the main structure of the candlestick during use.
Finding a pair with original matching sconces intact adds significantly to the completeness and historical integrity of the set.