Her Majesty's Furniture: The Robert Adam Candlestand, 1771-4

This and all related images from:
The Victoria & Albert Museum

Inspired by then-recent discoveries of antiquities, this carved candlestand is painted blue with the white ornaments. It has been designed in the shape of a Roman sacrificial altar with the uppermost part in the shape of a bowl trimmed with molding in the form of a Vitruvian scroll frieze. Elaborate figural supports terminate in a triangular pedestal decorated with eagles and swags. The edges of the pedestal are adorned with a foliate drop, rams heads and lion's feet, resting on three Etruscan sphinxes.

Made in London between1771-1774, this candlestand is the work of Robert Adam (1728-1792) who was known for his architectural designs and fine woodworking. This piece is an intricate combination of pine (upper section and ornaments) and mahogany (the pedestal) held together with small metal nails.

This is one of a pair (another pair by Adam of simpler design is now in the Melbourne Art Gallery) thought to have been made for the eating room of 20 St. James's Square--the London town house of Sir Watkin Williams-Wynn, a leading patron of arts and music. The house was designed and built by Robert Adam between August 1771 and August 1774 and is one of the few surviving examples of Adam’s architectural designs. 

The pair was purchased by the Crown for display at the Victoria and Albert Museum, sometime in the Nineteenth Century.