Early 20th Century Neo-Classical Adam Revival Silver-Plated Metal Candlesticks, Europe, Set of 2

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These candlesticks are likely made of silver-plated base metal using electroplating, a widespread industrial technique in the second half of … Read more These candlesticks are likely made of silver-plated base metal using electroplating, a widespread industrial technique in the second half of the 19th century that democratized the formal repertoire of tableware while maintaining a high level of detail in repoussé and stamping. Their precise origin (British, Belgian, or French) cannot be established due to the absence of a visible hallmark.

The tapered, square stem, the molded, stepped bases, and the gadrooned rim of the candle holder are characteristic of the Adam Revival style, an English neoclassical movement inspired by the work of brothers Robert and James Adam, which enjoyed widespread commercial popularity in Europe between 1870 and 1910. The four sides of the stem are decorated with garlands and draperies in bas-relief. The friezes on the base feature knotted garlands of ribbons, motifs directly borrowed from the repertoire of Greco-Roman antiquity as reinterpreted by the Neoclassical decorative arts of the late 18th century—Robert Adam, but also the Sèvres and Wedgwood manufactories, which helped to establish its ornamental grammar. The cup is decorated with repoussé acanthus leaves, a transition between the stem and the gadrooned bobeche. These candlesticks are akin to the productions of Christofle, Elkington, and WMF in the Neoclassical silver-plated style of the Belle Époque. See less