Taperstick
1840-1841 (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
A taperstick is similar to a candlestick but smaller, serving as a holder for a thin candle or taper. Tapers were used to melt wax or to light candles and pipes. Because they were small they would have provided minimal illumination, but they might have been used on a desk, for example.
The shape and function of this taperstick are subsumed by its naturalistic styling. The concept of shaping objects as natural forms emerged in the late 1820s and almost immediately raised questions about the appropriate relationship of ornament to function. By the time the Museum of Ornamental Art (later the V&A) was set up in London in 1852, it was thought necessary to have a display of ‘Examples of False Principles in Decoration’ to act as a warning to designers. The indiscriminate use of naturalism was condemned by the museum’s first director, Henry Cole, as ‘natural, or merely imitative style…seen in its worst development in some of the articles of form’.
The shape and function of this taperstick are subsumed by its naturalistic styling. The concept of shaping objects as natural forms emerged in the late 1820s and almost immediately raised questions about the appropriate relationship of ornament to function. By the time the Museum of Ornamental Art (later the V&A) was set up in London in 1852, it was thought necessary to have a display of ‘Examples of False Principles in Decoration’ to act as a warning to designers. The indiscriminate use of naturalism was condemned by the museum’s first director, Henry Cole, as ‘natural, or merely imitative style…seen in its worst development in some of the articles of form’.
Object details
| Category | |
| Object type | |
| Materials and techniques | Cast silver |
| Brief description | Taperstick, silver, London, 1840-1, mark of Edward Barnard and Sons |
| Physical description | Taperstick, silver, with detachable snuffer. Cast in the form of a plant; the column formed of two intertwining stems; the base of leaves with indented edges similar to acanthus; the taper-holder as an upright bell flower. A separate extinguisher in the form of a bell-flower hooks on half-way up the stem. |
| Dimensions |
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| Marks and inscriptions | On base: Maker's mark: Edward Barnard and Sons, with sterling, duty, leopard, date
Snuffer: duty, sterling
Maker's mark: EE over B over JW
(Grimwade 3rd ed. No. 575) |
| Object history | The concept of objects formed wholly as natural subjects emerged in the 1840s, and almost immediately raised questions about the appropriate relationship of ornament to function. By the time Museum of Ornamental Art (later the V&A) was set up in 1852, it was thought necessary to have a display of "Examples of False Principles in Decoration" to act as a warning to designers. The indiscriminate use of naturalism was condemned by Henry Cole as "natural, or merely imitative style ... seen in its worst development in some of the articles of form." |
| Historical context | Barnard's were able exponents of the late Georgian/early Victorian naturalistic style. They are known to have made a chamber candlestick in the organic naturalistic manner as early as 1828. |
| Summary | A taperstick is similar to a candlestick but smaller, serving as a holder for a thin candle or taper. Tapers were used to melt wax or to light candles and pipes. Because they were small they would have provided minimal illumination, but they might have been used on a desk, for example. The shape and function of this taperstick are subsumed by its naturalistic styling. The concept of shaping objects as natural forms emerged in the late 1820s and almost immediately raised questions about the appropriate relationship of ornament to function. By the time the Museum of Ornamental Art (later the V&A) was set up in London in 1852, it was thought necessary to have a display of ‘Examples of False Principles in Decoration’ to act as a warning to designers. The indiscriminate use of naturalism was condemned by the museum’s first director, Henry Cole, as ‘natural, or merely imitative style…seen in its worst development in some of the articles of form’. |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | M.18-1972 |
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| Record created | March 3, 2004 |
| Record URL |
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