Candlestick, one of a pair

Date1720-1721

Artist/Maker Thomas Folkingham

MediumSilver

DimensionsOH: 6 1/2"; W(base): 4 1/8"

Credit LineMuseum Purchase

Object number1962-136,2

DescriptionCylindrical socket of octagonal section with moulding below rim, faceted sides, and cupped lower section; main section of stem of octagonal section and inverted-baluster form ribs at the corners of the facets and with moulding above and below lower knop; broad base of octagonalplan with series of mouldings at juncture with stems, domed center with ribs in star arrangement, and moulded sides and edge. Stem cast in two parts vertically and base in one. Uninscribed as to owner.
Label TextFolkingham continued to work, as did several makers, in the higher Britannia standard after it had become optional with the reinstatement of the sterling standard in 1720. These handsome candlesticks with bold moldings and unusual ribbed decoration are an elegant variation, favored by Folkingham, of this basically plain, polygonal type of candlestick. Two pairs of candlesticks of identical design of 1718/19 by Folkingham, one pair of smaller size, and an earlier pair (1715/16) of similar form with ribbed stems and related radiate base decoration, are in the Untermyer collection. A pair of candlesticks of 1714/15 by Folkingham, virtually identical to those of the following year in the Untermyer collection, were advertised for sale in 1947 and 1952. Possibly the earliest candlesticks of this type by Folkingham are a pair of 1712/13 with ribbed stems and a molded panel on the upper face of and repeating the plan of their bases.
InscribedNone
MarkingsBrittannia standard. Maker's mark "FO" in block letter a device above and a mullet below within a shaped oval, lion's head erased, Brittania, and date letter in the underside of each base. Lion's head erased on the face of each socket.
ProvenanceThe Goldsmiths & Silversmiths Co. Ltd., London (now Garrard & Co. Ltd.) (1950)
Sotheby & Co., London (1962)