Pair of Pricket Sticks
A pair of pricket sticks brings centuries of ritual light into a room, standing tall on altars or tables.
Pair of Pricket Sticks
A pair of pricket sticks consists of matching candle holders fitted with an upright metal spike instead of a socket to secure the wax. When searching for a pair of pricket sticks, buyers encounter church and altar furnishings originating from the sixteenth century up through the Victorian era.
The inventory on this page spans brass and carved wooden examples, featuring styles from Italian Neoclassical and French Chateau to Gothic Revival. Forms range from church candlesticks and floor candlesticks to table lamps adapted from older candle-lamps.
Materials and construction methods
Metal examples rely on cast brass and bronze, shaping heavy bases and stems designed to support substantial altar candles. These pieces demonstrate traditional founding methods suited to ecclesiastical and domestic ritual objects.
Wooden variants utilise carved timber finished with gesso, paint, or silver leaf and gilt-wood applications. This surface treatment gives a decorative texture to French and Italian altar-style candle holders.
Pair of Pricket Sticks Retail Price Guide 2026
Typical asking prices for pair of pricket sticks among the pieces listed under this phrase on Sellingantiques today, from the lower quarter to the upper quarter. They describe what is for sale here now, not the wider market.
The listings span periods from the sixteenth century to the twentieth century, using materials such as brass, carved wood, gesso, silver leaf, and bronze.
Distinctions in quality and execution
Quality rests in the crispness of the carving on wooden pieces or the weight and casting detail of brass and bronze. Pieces retain their original surface treatments, such as silver leaf or paint, which separates untouched examples from later adaptations.
Proportion and structural integrity define the better specimens, where bases remain balanced and spikes sit true to the centre of the drip pan. Early examples show deliberate hand-tooling that distinguishes them from later stylistic revivals.
The Pair of Pricket Sticks Glossary
- Pricket
- A metal spike fitted to the top of a candlestick to impale and hold a candle. This form predates the common socket candlestick.
- Gesso
- A plaster-like mixture applied to wood as a base for paint or metal leaf. It allows for intricate decorative carving before gilding.
- Gilt-wood
- Wood that has been coated with gold leaf or a gold-coloured finish. It appears frequently on Italian and French decorative candle holders.
- Altar-style
- Descriptive of candlesticks and prickets modelled after ecclesiastical furnishings used on church altars. These pieces often feature grander scales and heavier bases.
Pair of Pricket Sticks: Frequently Asked Questions
What is a pricket stick?
A pricket stick is a candle holder that uses an upward-pointing metal spike to secure a candle, rather than a hollow socket.
These items frequently originate from ecclesiastical settings and church furnishings.
How do I date these pieces?
Dating relies on stylistic clues like Gothic Revival details or seventeenth-century Baroque forms combined with material evidence.
Brass casting methods and the application of gesso or silver leaf also point to specific periods.
Were they used in churches?
Many examples on this page originate as church or altar candlesticks designed for religious rituals.
Others were made as decorative items for French and Italian domestic interiors.
How do I live with them?
These tall sticks function well on mantelpieces, sideboards, or large tables where their height adds vertical presence.
Some examples have been adapted as lamps for modern illumination.