Terms and conditions of use
Candlestick, snuffer and extinguisher
1734-1735
Medium
silver-gilt
Measurements
(a-c) 10.7 × 16.7 × 14.4 cm (overall)
Credit Line
National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne
Felton Bequest, 1934
Gallery location
Not on display
About this work
The rocaille had its origins in France, and first made its influence felt in England in silverware. As a luxury material and conspicuous marker of consumption, silver design tended to follow progressive fashions. In this candlestick by Paul de Lamerie, the most celebrated silversmith working in eighteenth-century England, the asymmetric scrolls, shell and leaf forms of the early Rococo shape the outline of the object, as well as providing surface ornamentation. The candle snuffer, by contrast, is of a purely practical, conical form: the Rococo elements are restricted to applied ornamental motifs.
Artwork Details
Place/s of Execution
London, England
Inscription
(a) engraved (vertically) in candlestick c.l.: BC (monogram)
punched (diagonally) (inverted) in base u.l.: T
punched (diagonally) in base u.l.: (crowned leapard's head)
punched (diagonally) in base u.l.: (lion passant)
punched (diagonally) (inverted) in base l.c.l.: (crown) / P•L
(b) engraved in inside of snuffer c.: BC (monogram)
(c) engraved in rear of extinguisher c.: BC (monogram)
incised in inside of extinguisher above lower rim: 21300<28
Accession Number
3575.a-c-D3
Department
International Decorative Arts
This digital record has been made available on NGV Collection Online through the generous support of Digitisation Champion Ms Carol Grigor through Metal Manufactures Limited