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Sconce
Macdonald, Margaret, born 1864 - died 1933 - Enlarge image
Sconce
- Place of origin:
Glasgow, Scotland (made)
- Date:
ca. 1896 (made)
- Artist/Maker:
Macdonald, Margaret, born 1864 - died 1933 (designer and maker)
Macdonald, Frances, born 1873 - died 1921 (designer and maker) - Materials and Techniques:
Copper, hand-beaten, embossed and chased
- Museum number:
CIRC.66-1959
- Gallery location:
British Galleries, room 125g, case WW
Object Type
A sconce was used to magnify the light of one or more candles by a back reflector, in front of which the candle was supported in a socket at the end of a fixed or swivel branch. Sconces were usually made of silver but were also made in copper and brass.
People
Margaret and Frances Macdonald were two of the most original artists working in Glasgow in the 1890s. They attended evening classes at the Glasgow School of Art together with Charles Rennie Mackintosh and Herbert Macnair (who worked with Mackintosh from 1889 at the architectural practice, Honeyman & Jeppie). They became known as The Four.
Historical Associations
The group created a distinctive decorative style that was disseminated internationally through exhibitions, in particular the fifth exhibition of the Arts and Crafts Society in London (1896), the eighth exhibition of the Vienna Secession (1900) and the Esposizione Internazionale d'Arte Decorativa in Turin (1902). Their work was published in contemporary periodicals, notably The Studio, Dekorative Kunst, Deutsche Kunst und Dekoration and Ver Sacrum. In this way, they provided substantial impetus for the development and recognition of a distinctive Glasgow style in Britain and on the Continent, although they had few direct imitators.
