Antique Silver Plate Candleholders
These antique silver plate candleholders bring warmth and period elegance to a room, offering the visual weight of solid silver through inventive historical fusing and plating techniques.
Antique Silver Plate Candleholders
When you search for antique silver plate candleholders, you encounter a selection spanning the eighteenth, nineteenth, and early twentieth centuries, encompassing Georgian, Victorian, Edwardian, and Regency eras. The most common forms on this page are pairs of candlesticks and multi-light candelabras, alongside occasional wall sconces, chamber candlesticks, and taper sticks.
The stylistic vocabulary shifts from the restrained symmetry of Neoclassical columns and George III designs to the exuberant curves of Rococo Revival, French Chateau, and Art Nouveau. Certain examples incorporate figural elements like cherubs or adopt specific structural variations such as telescopic columns and lyre shapes.
Metals and Plating Techniques
Makers produced these pieces using copper, brass, and base metal foundations coated in silver, often through the Old Sheffield Plate process or later electroplating methods. Old Sheffield Plate involves fusing a thin sheet of silver to a thicker copper ingot under heat, which leaves a characteristic subtle seam or a flash of underlying copper where wear occurs over generations.
Nineteenth-century technical advances introduced silver plating over base metals and copper, supported by interior lead weighting or wooden cores in the bases to provide stability. Cast ornamental details such as drip pans, detachable sconces, and decorative mounts were soldered or fitted to the main body.
Several Victorian pairs include watchful cherubs holding aloft candle sockets, ensuring your dining table is monitored by miniature celestial beings.
Craftsmanship and Proportion
The distinction between standard production and the finest items rests on the crispness of the chased and cast ornamentation, such as scrolling foliage, fluting, and figural details. Superior pieces maintain balanced proportions and heavy gauge metal that resists bending.
Completeness dictates much of the distinction, particularly the presence of original removable sconces, matching drip pans, and intact silver surfaces without excessive base metal telegraphing through the plating.
Hawksworth Eyre·Blagden, Hodgson & Co.
The Antique Silver Plate Candleholders Glossary
- Old Sheffield Plate
- A method of fusing silver and copper together before shaping the metal into lighting and holloware. This technique predates nineteenth-century electroplating.
- Candelabra
- A branched lighting fixture holding multiple candles upon a single central shaft. These often feature removable arms to convert into standard candlesticks.
- Sconce
- A candleholder designed for mounting directly onto a wall rather than resting on a table. The form directs light outward into the room.
- Telescopic
- A sliding shaft mechanism allowing the height of the candlestick to be adjusted. This engineering appears on select eighteenth and nineteenth-century examples.
- Chamber candlestick
- A low candleholder fitted with a saucer base and a small handle, historically used for carrying light through a house at night.
Antique Silver Plate Candleholders: Frequently Asked Questions
How do I clean antique silver plate candleholders?
Use a soft cloth and a gentle, non-abrasive silver cleaner formulated specifically for plated items. Avoid harsh rubbing that might wear through the thin silver layer to the base copper beneath.
Keep polishes away from weighted bases and felted bottoms to prevent moisture damage. Regular dusting with a dry microfiber cloth minimises the need for frequent chemical cleaning.
What is Old Sheffield Plate?
Old Sheffield Plate is an early manufacturing method where a sheet of silver is thermally fused to a copper ingot. Artisans then rolled and shaped the bonded metal into candlesticks.
This process creates a sandwich effect where subtle lines of copper may show along unexposed edges or high-wear areas over time. It differs significantly from later electroplated silver.
Why are some candlesticks weighted?
Makers filled the hollow bases of many nineteenth-century candlesticks with lead, resin, or plaster to provide stability and counter the weight of tall candles. This interior weighting prevents the slender metal columns from tipping easily.
Original baize or felt covers on the bottom generally protect surfaces and conceal the weighted interior plug.
What are removable sconces?
Removable sconces are small, detachable drip pans fitted into the top socket of a candlestick to catch melting wax. They lift out independently to simplify cleaning after use.
Finding a pair with matching original removable sconces adds to the completeness of the piece.