MARK OF JOHN FIGG, LONDON, 1867, RETAILED BY WILLIAM BOORE

These silver-gilt candlesticks emulate two pairs commissioned by Beckford in 1800 from Vulliamy and Son and made by Paul Storr, which are now in the collection of Jerome and Rita Gans, Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, Richmond, (Acc. nos. 2010.44). The Storr candlesticks epitomise Beckford's particular love of curiosities and antiquarian cabinet pieces in precious metal. Although Horace Walpole had also enjoyed a taste for the antiquarian and had revived earlier styles at Strawberry Hill, Beckford can be seen as the first to foster a widespread antiquarian style, and these candlesticks represent the earliest examples of the medieval, or what was thought to be a medieval revival style. The Storr candlesticks, which Beckford referred to as his 'Holbein' candlesticks, were copies of French 17th century examples.

The accounts of Vulliamy and Son, Beckford's supplier, describe them as follows: '...the whole Gilt and finished in so perfect a manner as exactly to resemble a pair of highly-finished Gold Chased Candlesticks' Public Record Office Mss. C.104/57. Identical candlesticks are known in carved boxwood, and form part of a group of wood toilet service articles clearly copied from contemporary French silver, which have been attributed to workshops in the city of Nancy know as Bois de Bagard, after the work of the sculptor Cesar Bagard (1620-1704). In the 2001-2 Beckford exhibition catalogue entry for the Storr candlesticks the work of Nicholas-Francois Foulon (1628-1698) was also cited as a possible design source.

It has always been assumed that treen examples provided the model for the present silver candlesticks, but Vulliamy's description suggests that silver-gilt originals from the reign of Louis XIV may have existed in London in 1800 and provided the specific model for the present examples. Whether or not Beckford knew they were copied from seventeenth century prototypes, he preferred to say that 'they were executed after an original design by Holbein' and fashioned in solid gold. It has been suggested that Vulliamy or Storr retained the original casts, which enabled later silversmiths, such as John Figg, to produce copies well into the 19th century.