Object Type
Candlesticks were essential domestic equipment. Before the 1780s, when oil lamps came in, candles were the chief source of artificial light. Silver candlesticks and candles, though expensive, were a necessary luxury to enhance status, although candlesticks could be made of a variety of other materials including Sheffield plate, pewter, brass, ceramics and glass. They were used all over the house and moved from place to place as required. Candles could be made of tallow (animal fat), beeswax or spermaceti (whale oil). Tallow was the cheapest of these three types. In 1707 a large ox weighing 150 stone was recorded as rendering 21 stone of tallow. Beeswax candles were three times as expensive as tallow. The cost of candlelight was increased by taxes levied from 1709. Even in the grandest households, the use of candles was limited unless entertaining. In 1774 Lady Leicester at Holkham Hall in Norfolk was reported to sew every night by the light of a single candle.

Design & Designing
The design of candlesticks reflected changing fashions in the 18th century. Rococo and Neo-classical ornamental detail added to the variety of candlestick styles available. This candlestick, with its plain baluster stem, looks back to the unadorned designs of 1700-1710. However, the spiral fluting on the stem and base show the influence of Rococo asymmetry, and the stepped gadrooned (convex fluting) base can be found on later Neo-classical designs. The candlestick has a detachable nozzle, an innovation of the 1740s, to prevent drips of candlewax soiling the clean candlesticks.