A PAIR OF REGENCY SILVER-GILT CANDLESTICKS FROM THE BECKFORD PLATE

MARK OF BENJAMIN SMITH II AND BENJAMIN SMITH III, LONDON, 1817

Details

A PAIR OF REGENCY SILVER-GILT CANDLESTICKS FROM THE BECKFORD PLATE
MARK OF BENJAMIN SMITH II AND BENJAMIN SMITH III, LONDON, 1817
Each on a circular base, the border with beading and stiff leaves on a matted ground, the baluster-form stem and socket with beading, gadrooning and stiff leaves, the detachable nozzle circular with beaded border, the stem and nozzle engraved with the Beckford crest, each marked on base and nozzle bezel
7 1/2 in. (19 cm.) high; 42 oz. 10 dwt. (1,325 gr.) (2)

Provenance

William Thomas Beckford (1760-1844)
Susan Euphemia Beckford, later Duchess of Hamilton, daughter
William, 11th Duke of Hamilton and 8th Duke of Brandon, by descent to
Angus Alan Douglas, 15th Duke of Hamilton and 12th Duke of Brandon, sold
Sotheby's, London, 24 June 1980, lot 258

Literature

Michael Snodin and Malcom Baker, "William Beckford's Silver II," The Burlington Magazine, Vol. 122 No. 933 (Dec. 1980), p. 825

If you wish to view the condition report of this lot, please sign in to your account.

View condition report

Lot Essay

Based on designs by Robert Adam from the 1760s, these candlesticks formed part of a set associated with William Beckford's earliest silver commissions and reflect his lifelong passion for neoclassicism. Beckford first commissioned candlesticks of this model in 1781 and added to the set at intervals until 1817, the year the present pair was hallmarked. At least eighteen of these candlesticks survive, although the total number in Beckford's collection is unknown.

Another pair of silver candlesticks of this design by John Scofield of 1791 are now in the Beckford Collection, Brodick Castle, National Trust for Scotland. They are illustrated in Derek E. Ostergard, ed., William Beckford 1760-1844: An Eye for the Magnificent, 2001, p. 306.

PHOTO CAPTION:

William Beckford (1760-1844)
by George Romney
Upton House, Warwickshire
[c] National Trust Images/John Hammond

More from Silver

View All