Before the 1780s, candles were the chief source of artificial light. People used candelabra and candlesticks all over the house and moved them from place to place as required. However, even the grandest households used candles sparingly unless there were guests. In 1774, Lady Leicester at Holkham Hall, Norfolk, supposedly sewed every night by the light of a single candle.

The small size of this candlestick suggests that it was probably intended for the drawing room or library rather than the dining room. It is made of Sheffield plate, which looks like solid silver but costs less than half as much. Thomas Boulsover developed this fusion of copper and silver in 1742.

This candlestick, which has detachable branches, is in the Neo-classical style. It is made from die-stamped sections soldered together. Die stamping was an ideal technique for candlesticks. It created raised decoration on thin sheets of metal such as Sheffield plate or silver. Metalworkers could assemble the decorated sheets in a variety of combinations. This provided a vast supply of models, which differed from each other only in one or two details.