Antique Tapered Candle Holders
These antique tapered candle holders bring weight and steady light to a room, cast in heavy brass, silver plate, and porcelain across several centuries.
Antique Tapered Candle Holders
When you search for antique tapered candle holders, you look at candlesticks designed to hold wax tapers securely in sockets that narrow downwards or fit specific taper diameters. The forms on this page span Georgian, Victorian, Edwardian, and Art Deco periods, drawing on French Empire, Neoclassical, and Art Nouveau styles.
Brass examples dominate the earlier periods, often featuring petal bases or seamed construction, alongside mahogany turned shafts and pewter pairs. Silver plated and sterling silver versions appear frequently from the nineteenth century onward, including Corinthian column designs and figural forms.
Porcelain items also emerge, represented by factories such as Nymphenburg and Barr, Flight & Barr Worcester, alongside bronze pairs from the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Pairs are common, though single candlesticks and chambersticks with leaf forms or handle attachments also surface.
Materials and construction methods
Metals form the core of the selection, utilising cast and seamed brass, bronze, pewter, and silver plate over copper or base metals. Brass components often show casting seams or turned lathe marks from Georgian and Victorian workshops.
Silver items combine sterling silver sheet and weighted interior cores with hallmarked outer layers, while silver plated wares rely on older techniques like Old Sheffield Plate or electroplating on a base metal. Porcelain pieces employ fired ceramic bodies with hand-painted foliage and schoolhouse patterns under glaze.
Distinctions in manufacture and preservation
The standard of a piece rests on crispness of cast detail, such as the fluting on Corinthian columns or the definition in figural subjects like bears and pug dogs. Weight and balance also separate robust domestic items from lighter decorative variants.
Original surface patination, intact plating without extensive base metal telegraphing, and unaltered components determine the integrity of silver plated and brass examples. Maker marks, where present from firms like Masons or WMF, add documentary clarity to the execution.
Mappin & Webb·Nymphenburg·Masons Ironstone·Ridgway·Barr, Flight & Barr·WMF
The Antique Tapered Candle Holders Glossary
- Chamberstick
- A low candlestick fitted with a saucer base and a small side handle for carrying through a house. They often include a small conical snuffer resting in the tray.
- Ejector candlestick
- A brass candlestick containing an internal mechanism to push out remaining candle stubs. A small side button moves a sliding disc up the socket.
- Old Sheffield Plate
- An early method of fusing a thin sheet of silver to a thicker copper ingot before rolling them into sheets. It creates a rich surface where copper edges occasionally peek through with age.
- Petal base
- A candlestick foot shaped like overlapping flower petals, typical of mid to late eighteenth century brass design. The lobes provide a stable, wide footprint.
- Telescopic candlestick
- A shaft designed with sliding tubular sections to adjust the overall height. They appear in silver plate and metal during the Georgian and Regency periods.
Antique Tapered Candle Holders: Frequently Asked Questions
How do I clean antique brass candlesticks?
Wash them gently in warm soapy water using a soft cloth to remove dust and surface grime. Avoid harsh commercial dips that strip away historical patination.
Dry them thoroughly with a lint-free cloth. Light waxing with microcrystalline wax helps protect the metal surface from further oxidation.
What is the difference between silver plate and sterling?
Sterling silver contains a solid silver content governed by legal standards and bears formal assay office hallmarks. It holds intrinsic metal value and polishes up uniformly.
Silver plate consists of a thin layer of silver bonded over a base metal like copper or nickel brass. Over decades of polishing, the underlying metal may show through at the high points.
How were chambersticks used historically?
Chambersticks provided portable illumination for lighting bedrooms and hallways before fixed electric lighting existed. People carried them by the side ring to avoid burning their fingers on hot wax.
The wide saucer tray caught any dripping wax, and many included a conical snuffer to extinguish the flame safely.