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Lot Essay
Alexander Macrae entered his first mark on 22 September 1856 and a second 25 January 1864, both at 32 Bow Street, Covent Garden (J. Culme, The Directory of Gold and Silversmiths Jewellers and Allied Traders 1838-1914 From the London Assay Office Registers, Woodbridge, 1987, pp. 458-459). An examination of the some of the work he was producing during the second half of the 19th century shows a wide range of domestic plate, including a number of decorative centrepieces such as one of 1867 with cast branch stem terminating in fruiting grapevines (Christie's, London, 12 June 2006, lot 63).
The present pair of candelabra, at 310 oz., must count among the more ambitious projects that were undertaken by his workshop and were probably made for a retailing goldsmith; Macrae was known to have made pieces to be retailed by Elkington and Thomas, among others (Culme, op. cit. p. 459). Macrae was joined in the business around 1870 by Martin Goldstein who eventually took over in 1878, still at 32 Bow Street, at which time the maker's marks of Alexander Macrae were defaced. The business, having moved to 17 Lisle Street, was purchased by Cornelius Joshua Vander in 1886 who built it into one of the largest manufactures in the 20th century.
The present pair of candelabra, at 310 oz., must count among the more ambitious projects that were undertaken by his workshop and were probably made for a retailing goldsmith; Macrae was known to have made pieces to be retailed by Elkington and Thomas, among others (Culme, op. cit. p. 459). Macrae was joined in the business around 1870 by Martin Goldstein who eventually took over in 1878, still at 32 Bow Street, at which time the maker's marks of Alexander Macrae were defaced. The business, having moved to 17 Lisle Street, was purchased by Cornelius Joshua Vander in 1886 who built it into one of the largest manufactures in the 20th century.