Candlestick, one of a pair

Dateca. 1765

Probably by Joseph Hancock

MediumFused silverplate (Sheffield Plate)

DimensionsOH: (approx.) 9 1/2"; W:(base) 5 3/16"

Credit LineMuseum Purchase

Object number1939-266,1A&B

DescriptionCandlestick, one of pair plan with reeded border fitting concave-sided circular socket with inverted bell-shaped lower section on shaped inverted baluster stem with knop at bottom above raised and reeded section raising from center of broad circular well in top of square base with reeding on sides. Loading and base plates replaced. Uninscribed as to owner.
Label TextPassing through Sheffield in 1760, Horace Walpole noted in a letter to his friend, George Montagu, that "One man there has discovered the art of plating copper with silver. I bought a pair of candlesticks for two guineas that are quite pretty." Candlesticks, both plated and sterling, were among the most important and most numerous productions of the Sheffield makers. Aided by die stamping and the use of interchangeable components, Sheffield became, in fact, the center in England for the production of candlesticks after 1770, especially the more standard Adamite types.

Of a conventional mid-eighteenth-century pattern, these candlesticks bear the "I. H" mark generally associated with Joseph Hancock. He, rather than Boulsover, was primarily responsible for greatly enlarging the formal scope of plated wares. Rev. Edward Goodwin, in his introduction to the Sheffield trade directory of 1797, wrote: "Buttons of brass or copper plated with silver were made by Mr. T. Bolsover, about 50 years ago. But, about 1758 a manufactory of the composition was begun by Mr. Joseph Hancock, an ingenious mechanic, upon a more extensive scale, comprehending a great variety of articles; such as tea urns, coffee-pots, saucepans, tankards, cups, candlesticks, &c. &c. Since that time, this branch has been pursued by various companies to great advantage; which has greatly contributed to the wealth and population of the town."
InscribedNone
MarkingsMaker's mark on each socket
ProvenanceOld English Galleries, Boston, Massachusetts