Candlestick

Artist Sebastian and James Crespell (English | British, active from 1762)

Designer Robert Adam (Scottish | British, 1728-1792)

Place of OriginEngland

Date1769

DimensionsH: 35.5 cm (14 in.), w. of base 15.2 cm (6 in.), d. of base 15 cm (5 15/16 in.)

MediumSilver; cast, engraved, and chased.

ClassificationMetalwork

Credit LinePurchased with funds from the Florence Scott Libbey Bequest in Memory of her Father, Maurice A. Scott

Object number

1993.54

Not on View

Label TextThe designer of these candlesticks, architect Robert Adam, was the leading British proponent of the Neoclassical style in architecture and interior design, which incorporated motifs and forms from ancient Greek and Roman art and architecture. These graceful candlesticks feature acanthus leaf decoration on the stem, foot, and base, one of the most common motifs of ancient Greco-Roman design.Published ReferencesClayton, Michael, The Collector's Dictionary of the Silver and Gold of Great Britain and North America, Antique Collector's Club, 1985, p. 62, no. 80.
Alcorn, Ellenor, English Silver in the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. Vol. II, Silver from 1697 including Irish and Scottish Silver, Boston, MFA Publications, 2000, cat. 129.
Exhibition HistoryToledo Museum of Art, Out of Sight, June 18-Aug. 29, 2010.Comparative ReferencesSee also Rowe, Robert, Adam Silver 1765-1795, Faber and Faber, 1965, pls. 10, 11A, 11B, p. 37.