Mr. Punch in the Arts: The Enamel Punch Candlestick, 1755-60

The Victoria & Albert Museum

This delightful candlestick features a figure of Mr. Punch rendered in soft-paste porcelain which has been gilded and painted with enamels. Punch dances--his right foot raised as holds aloft a lantern in his right hand.

He is cheerfully dressed in a striped and floral-patterned jacket, flowered trousers, yellow shoes and a hat. The socket for the candle is formed from a swirl of leaves atop a stump with yellow and crimson applied flowers and details picked out in green.

Made between 1755 and 1760 by the Derby Porcelain factory (manufacturer), the modeling is the work of William Duesbury & Co.

The Home Beautiful: A Chippendale Mirror, 1762-5

Chippendale Mirror and Girandole, 1762-5
The Victoria & Albert Museum

This exceptional Eighteenth Century mirror was designed to serve double-duty as a girandole or a sconce with three arms to support candles and reflect the candlelight to increase the light in a room.

A work of Chippendale (1718-1779), dating between 1762 and 1765, this mirror boasts an elaborately-carved Rococo frame adorned with flowers, leaves, bull-rushes and birds (probably cranes). The carved pine frame was gilded creating a surface which, when combined with the brass fittings and mirror, also served to reflect light.

Thomas Chippendale (1718-1779) engaged a team of engravers to prepare his designs, so its difficult to say whose specific hand created this piece.  The glass—as with most large sheets of glass at the time—was most surely imported from France.  This complex design incorporates both smaller and larger sections of glass. The smaller sections were crafted from off-cuts from the larger pieces—economically utilizing as much of this expensive material as possible.

Unusual Artifacts: The Neptune Candelabrum, 1818-1819

The Victoria & Albert Museum

Known for its triumphant depiction of the god Neptune, this magnificent candelabrum is adorned with a figure of the Roman god of the sea, depicted kneeling on a sea horse or hippocamp, on a rocky base cast and chased with shells and a host of other sea creatures. Neptune, as usual, bears a trident in his left hand and supports, with his right, a shell from which a hydra (that wacky mythical many-headed snake) springs out to form the branches which hold the candles.


Made between 1818-1819, this was just one part of a massive table garniture ordered by the Duke of York. In 1827, when the Duke of York’s silver was auctioned, the catalog listed the candelabrum as attributed to the antiquarian and silver retailer Kensington Lewis, whose trade card described him as “Silversmith and Jeweller to his R. H. the Duke of York.”


And, certainly, The Duke of York was Lewis’ most important patron.  Lewis’ business suffered enormously after the Duke’s death.

Mr. Punch in the Arts: The Enamel Punch Candlestick, 1755-60

The Victoria & Albert Museum

This delightful candlestick features a figure of Mr. Punch rendered in soft-paste porcelain which has been gilded and painted with enamels. Punch dances--his right foot raised as holds aloft a lantern in his right hand.

He is cheerfully dressed in a striped and floral-patterned jacket, flowered trousers, yellow shoes and a hat. The socket for the candle is formed from a swirl of leaves atop a stump with yellow and crimson applied flowers and details picked out in green.

Made between 1755 and 1760 by the Derby Porcelain factory (manufacturer), the modeling is the work of William Duesbury & Co.

The Home Beautiful: The Parrot Candlestick, 1660-1760

Candle Holder
Porcelain: China, 1660-1760
Ormolu Mounts: French
The Victoria & Albert Museum

 

With the rise of “oriental” motifs in European art, the demand for authentic Asian pieces increased considerably.  The kilns of Jingdezhen in China were called upon to produce table wares and decorative items as special orders for wealthy European clients.  Among the most popular objects created in Jingdezhen were those which featured figures of animals prominently during this period.  These items soon found long lives in the elegant interiors of wealthy homes throughout Europe. 

More often than not, once these glazed porcelain items were imported to Europe, they were fitted with metal mounts which served to make them more fashionable in the West.  Often, these fittings altered the purpose of the object.  Such is the case of this pair of candlesticks.

Ormolu (gilt bronze) were added to these parrot figures, possibly at the Sèvres Porcelain Factory, between 1660 and 1700, so that the sculptures could be used to hold candles.  The parrots are glazed in turquoise and blue.  The beaks are left unglazed for a more natural effect. 

The Home Beautiful: A Chippendale Mirror, 1762-5

Chippendale Mirror and Girandole, 1762-5
The Victoria & Albert Museum

This exceptional Eighteenth Century mirror was designed to serve double-duty as a girandole or a sconce with three arms to support candles and reflect the candlelight to increase the light in a room.

A work of Chippendale (1718-1779), dating between 1762 and 1765, this mirror boasts an elaborately-carved Rococo frame adorned with flowers, leaves, bull-rushes and birds (probably cranes). The carved pine frame was gilded creating a surface which, when combined with the brass fittings and mirror, also served to reflect light.

Thomas Chippendale (1718-1779) engaged a team of engravers to prepare his designs, so its difficult to say whose specific hand created this piece.  The glass—as with most large sheets of glass at the time—was most surely imported from France.  This complex design incorporates both smaller and larger sections of glass. The smaller sections were crafted from off-cuts from the larger pieces—economically utilizing as much of this expensive material as possible.

Mr. Punch in the Arts: The Enamel Punch Candlestick, 1755-60

The Victoria & Albert Museum

This delightful candlestick features a figure of Mr. Punch rendered in soft-paste porcelain which has been gilded and painted with enamels. Punch dances--his right foot raised as holds aloft a lantern in his right hand.

He is cheerfully dressed in a striped and floral-patterned jacket, flowered trousers, yellow shoes and a hat. The socket for the candle is formed from a swirl of leaves atop a stump with yellow and crimson applied flowers and details picked out in green.

Made between 1755 and 1760 by the Derby Porcelain factory (manufacturer), the modeling is the work of William Duesbury & Co.,

The Home Beautiful: A Cow Candleholder, 1749

The Victoria & Albert Museum

Made in Staffordshire, England between 1749 and 1753, this candleholder demonstrates the fashion of British decorative arts in middle-class households in the mid-Eighteenth Century.

Figure of a cow lying down, the object is created of soft-paste porcelain. Beside the cow, a tree-stump forms the candle-socket. The whole of the piece is adorned with an applied floral design.

This is the work of Longton Hall Porcelain Factory who aimed to make affordable decorative objects to rival those made by the up-market Chelsea Factory.

Object of the Day: A Pair of Pressed Glass Candleholders

The technique of “Pressed Glass” rose in popularity in the early 1800’s. It has remained a valued method of replicating the look of cut-glass in mass production. Designers of the 1920’s and 1930’s were especially adept in creating pressed glass pieces—drawing upon elements and influences of their Victorian Counterparts.


This pair of pressed glass candleholders dates to the late 1920’s. Most likely American in production, these shimmering pieces reflect popular Art Deco influences while retaining some of the flare of late Victorian and early Edwardian design sensibilities such as “saw-tooth” detailing and faceting. Candleholders such as these would have found their way into a variety of uses—gracing tables, mantles, or even pianos. They speak of romance—the desire for the glow of candles in a world blazingly lit by electric light. Most assuredly, these items saw much joy, and perhaps, a little sorrow.

Objects of the Day: French Second Empire Candlesticks

Standing with pride since 1860, this couple never falters in their work. Cast in bronze, two Second Empire figures clutch delicate candleholders. Their bases of highly polished ebony and delicately-veined green marble contrast with the deep patina of the bronze. At fifteen inches high, they cut imposing figures. Solid and stalwart in their Renaissance-inspired costumes, they challenge the dark.

The term Second Empire refers to the arts of the reign of Napoleon III (1852-1870). The style of the time drew heavily from the Italian Renaissance and also introduced a Gothic revival. These candlesticks fittingly represent the sensibilities of the Second Empire with their carefully rendered costumes and monumental faces. The bases speak of the elegance of the time—letting the materials show their natural beauty in simplistic forms borrowed from the earlier Neoclassical Movement. They seem to tell us to remain loyal to the task at hand, and to remember that perseverance will always win out.