Candlestick
ca. 1650 (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
Object Type
Candlesticks of this form, with large trumpet-shaped bases and concave dish-trays, were fashionable in England around the mid-17th century.
Materials & Making
What makes this brass candlestick particularly interesting is its decoration. The surfaces are cast in low relief with flowers and scrolling foliage, while the ground is filled with black and white champlevé enamel.
This candlestick is from a group of enamelled cast brasswares that also included mirror-frames, stirrups, fire-dogs, sconces and sword-hilts as well as smaller items such as roundels for the centre of pewter dishes, badges and buttons. The colours used for the enamelling were limited to black, white, blue, green, yellow and red and the cast work is usually unsophisticated and rather roughly finished.
The Makers
The name of the manufacturer of all these English enamelled wares was unknown until recently. Research has now shown that Anthony Hatch, a prominent member of the Armourers and Braziers Company, supplied an enamelled brass chimney piece to the Company, which was placed in the Court Room. This was presumably similar in style to the other enamelled wares from this group, which of course included other wares associated with fireplaces. Anthony Hatch worked with Stephen Pilchard, another member of the Armourers and Braziers Company, and as the comparatively small output of work is clearly the work of one workshop, there seems every reason to suppose that it was in their workshop in London that all these enamelled wares were made. These candlesticks were formerly in Warwick Castle and some of the objects have Royalist associations. Even domestic wares decorated with enamel would have been expensive, which implies that the workshop that produced them would have had a small but comparatively wealthy clientele.
Candlesticks of this form, with large trumpet-shaped bases and concave dish-trays, were fashionable in England around the mid-17th century.
Materials & Making
What makes this brass candlestick particularly interesting is its decoration. The surfaces are cast in low relief with flowers and scrolling foliage, while the ground is filled with black and white champlevé enamel.
This candlestick is from a group of enamelled cast brasswares that also included mirror-frames, stirrups, fire-dogs, sconces and sword-hilts as well as smaller items such as roundels for the centre of pewter dishes, badges and buttons. The colours used for the enamelling were limited to black, white, blue, green, yellow and red and the cast work is usually unsophisticated and rather roughly finished.
The Makers
The name of the manufacturer of all these English enamelled wares was unknown until recently. Research has now shown that Anthony Hatch, a prominent member of the Armourers and Braziers Company, supplied an enamelled brass chimney piece to the Company, which was placed in the Court Room. This was presumably similar in style to the other enamelled wares from this group, which of course included other wares associated with fireplaces. Anthony Hatch worked with Stephen Pilchard, another member of the Armourers and Braziers Company, and as the comparatively small output of work is clearly the work of one workshop, there seems every reason to suppose that it was in their workshop in London that all these enamelled wares were made. These candlesticks were formerly in Warwick Castle and some of the objects have Royalist associations. Even domestic wares decorated with enamel would have been expensive, which implies that the workshop that produced them would have had a small but comparatively wealthy clientele.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Materials and techniques | Brass, cast and decorated with enamel |
| Brief description | Enamelled brass ('London Enamel' formerly 'Surrey Enamel'), probably made by Anthony Hatch and Stephen Pilcherd, London, 1650-1680 |
| Physical description | Trumpet based candlestick of cast brass, cylindrical stem with wide shallow drip pan half way up, the whole enamelled in black and white with flowers and stems. |
| Dimensions |
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| Gallery label |
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| Object history | Probably made in the London workshop of Anthony Hatch (active from 1632, died, probably in London, 1689) or Stephen Pilchard Historical significance: The items in the group are distinguished by their method of production: the fields to be enamelled were cast in the original moulds and not, as was more common, engraved (champlévé) or enclosed (cloisonné). They were for a long time referred to as Surrey Enamels after the author Charles R. Beard ascribed their manufacture to a factory in Esher, Surrey, but documentary evidence makes a storng case for their reattribution to the London workshops of Anthony Hatch and Stephen Pilcherd. Hatch, a prominent member of the Armourers and Braziers Company, supplied an enamelled brass chimney piece to the Company, which was placed in the Court Room. This was presumably similar in style to the other enamelled wares from this group, which of course included other wares associated with fireplaces. Hatch worked with Pilchard, another member of the Armourers and Braziers Company. Few examples fo these enamelled wares survive and along with the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, the V&A has the largest holding in the world at around a dozen examples. The comparatively small output of work and the repeated use of identical moulds for the stems of candlesticks, firedogs and cups suggests these objects are the products one workshop. Even domestic wares decorated with enamel would have been expensive, which implies that the workshop that produced them would have had a small but comparatively wealthy clientele. |
| Historical context | This candlestick is from a group of cast and enamelled brasswares that include stirrups, mirror-frames, fire-dogs, sconces, badges and sword-hilts. The colours used for the enamelling were limited to matt black, white, blue, green, yellow and red and the cast work is usually roughly finished. Some have Royalist associations including badges decorated with the Royal arms. |
| Summary | Object Type Candlesticks of this form, with large trumpet-shaped bases and concave dish-trays, were fashionable in England around the mid-17th century. Materials & Making What makes this brass candlestick particularly interesting is its decoration. The surfaces are cast in low relief with flowers and scrolling foliage, while the ground is filled with black and white champlevé enamel. This candlestick is from a group of enamelled cast brasswares that also included mirror-frames, stirrups, fire-dogs, sconces and sword-hilts as well as smaller items such as roundels for the centre of pewter dishes, badges and buttons. The colours used for the enamelling were limited to black, white, blue, green, yellow and red and the cast work is usually unsophisticated and rather roughly finished. The Makers The name of the manufacturer of all these English enamelled wares was unknown until recently. Research has now shown that Anthony Hatch, a prominent member of the Armourers and Braziers Company, supplied an enamelled brass chimney piece to the Company, which was placed in the Court Room. This was presumably similar in style to the other enamelled wares from this group, which of course included other wares associated with fireplaces. Anthony Hatch worked with Stephen Pilchard, another member of the Armourers and Braziers Company, and as the comparatively small output of work is clearly the work of one workshop, there seems every reason to suppose that it was in their workshop in London that all these enamelled wares were made. These candlesticks were formerly in Warwick Castle and some of the objects have Royalist associations. Even domestic wares decorated with enamel would have been expensive, which implies that the workshop that produced them would have had a small but comparatively wealthy clientele. |
| Bibliographic references |
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| Collection | |
| Accession number | 175-1906 |
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| Record created | March 27, 2003 |
| Record URL |
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