Collecting Silver Candlesticks – Up to the Georgian Period

General overview

Silver Candlesticks are one of the most popular and common collectable silver items, this is not surprising as they were used by everyone for daily lighting. Most candlesticks made before the mid 17^th century are rare to find, because they were melted down for coins or because they were worn. These candlesticks were very light as they were made from thin sheets of silver, however by the late 17^th century the expensive and sophisticated technique of using casting to make solid silver candlesticks had been developed by Huguenot craftsmen who fled from France.

By the 1770’s mechanization was making the production of candlesticks made from stamping “loaded” silver candlesticks from sheet silver, the bases would be loaded with plaster, pitch, wood and resin, the bases were loaded to keep the candlestick stable and prevent it from falling over as easy. Lots of these were produced in Birmingham and Sheffield and this allowed the Silver Candlestick to become available to almost everyone not just the church and gentry.

Another variation of the candlestick is a smaller but portable version called a chamber Stick, these silver chamber sticks were used to provide light on the way to bed, and some of these silver chamber sticks are complete with a snuffer. A snuffer is a device to allow you to extinguish the other candlesticks as you go up to bed. Other candlestick accessories include wick trimmers which as the name suggests are used to trim the wick of the candle and taper sticks which were used to light the candles around the house from one source as matches were not available or very expensive.

Candelabra are big versions of candlesticks and holds lots of candles at once; these were used by the upper classes to illuminate the big dining tables or large rooms they were also used by the church. Due to the size and because they are made from thicker silver the Candelabra are lots more valuable and better preserved, the earliest examples normally date from the mid 17^th century, however most of these are in private collections and normally you can come across various silver candelabra from the late 18^th and 19^th century to the present day.

Early Silver Candlesticks

The early silver candlesticks as mentioned before are very rare to find, however it is not impossible to find although if you do find a very early example you will normally pay premium prices for it and it might not be in good condition. Due to the lightness of the silver used on early candlesticks the bases are large and are not very tall this was to counterbalance the candle. They are normally very plain and examples from the 1680’s onwards could be heavier and taller due to the introduction of casting, ornate designs could also be used.

A pair of Charles II candlesticks which are  in good condition, very light and short with a wide base and very plain design would nowadays cost between £20,000 to £25,000 as they are very rare to find. However a pair of William and Mary 1694 cast candlesticks which are more ornate, heavier, and much taller which have had major repairs will still set you back between £8,000 to £12,000.

Queen Anne style candlesticks come in two forms the rarest is the Doric fluted columns which were made of sheet silver, they were highly decorated in the form of Greek rounded columns and had a wide ornate base with built in drip pan to catch the wax and prevent burning. These are very vulnerable to damage due to the thinness of the silver. The second type of Queen Anne style is the more typical cast style of silver candlestick, normally made from Britannia silver which is finer and softer than sterling silver they are normally quite plain, have smaller bases and have small canted oblong or octagonal stems which are usually baluster. The decoration is normally minimal and maybe a coat-of-arms or an armorial. Queen Anne silver candlesticks normally cost between £5,000 and £8,000 but can be higher depending on condition, size, style and provenance.

Collecting Silver Candlesticks as early as these is going to cost lots of money and you will be very lucky to come across lots of decent examples. However if you do have the money and find the right candlestick for you then buy it, as its price will only get higher and become an investment.

Related posts:

1. Collecting Silver Candlesticks – Georgian Silver Candlesticks to Today
2. Care and Storage of you Silver Collection
3. Collecting Silver – Silver Forming Techniques
4. Buying and Collecting Silver Checklist
5. Collecting Silver Boxes Part I
6. Antique Silver Hallmarks Part II
7. Collecting Silver Flatware – Part 1