Pair of candlesticks
In the era before gas lighting and electricity, candles played a principal role in illuminating the domestic interior of a house. The number of candles lit was an indication of the wealth and status of the owner: beeswax candles burned clean, had a pleasant smell, but were quite expensive compared to those made of tallow.
In late seventeenth-century France, a change in dining habits had a significant effect on the production of silver candlesticks. Entertainment was increasingly orientated towards the evening and elegant lighting became an important part of the interior decoration.
The Paris silversmith Charles Petit created these candlesticks which have a tapered stem, sockets decorated with strapwork, reeding, and female masks, and are supported on a round foot with gadrooned border.
Daughter of one of the founders of the Weyerhaeuser Timber Company, Catherine D. Wentworth (1865–1948) was an art student and painter who lived in France for thirty years. She became one of the most important American collectors of eighteenth-century French silver and on her death in 1948 bequeathed part of her significant collection of silver, gold boxes, French furniture, and textiles to the Metropolitan Museum. The collection is particularly strong in domestic silver, including a fair number of candlesticks.
In late seventeenth-century France, a change in dining habits had a significant effect on the production of silver candlesticks. Entertainment was increasingly orientated towards the evening and elegant lighting became an important part of the interior decoration.
The Paris silversmith Charles Petit created these candlesticks which have a tapered stem, sockets decorated with strapwork, reeding, and female masks, and are supported on a round foot with gadrooned border.
Daughter of one of the founders of the Weyerhaeuser Timber Company, Catherine D. Wentworth (1865–1948) was an art student and painter who lived in France for thirty years. She became one of the most important American collectors of eighteenth-century French silver and on her death in 1948 bequeathed part of her significant collection of silver, gold boxes, French furniture, and textiles to the Metropolitan Museum. The collection is particularly strong in domestic silver, including a fair number of candlesticks.
Artwork Details
- Title: Pair of candlesticks
- Maker: Charles Petit (master 1659, registered new mark 1680, recorded 1695)
- Date: 1701–2
- Culture: French, Paris
- Medium: Silver
- Dimensions: Height (each): 8 7/8 in. (22.5 cm)
- Classification: Metalwork-Silver
- Credit Line: Bequest of Catherine D. Wentworth, 1948
- Object Number: 48.187.245a, b, .246a, b
- Curatorial Department: European Sculpture and Decorative Arts
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Charles Petit
1700–1701
Jacques Demé
1690–91
Jacques-Nicolas Roettiers
1775–76
French
ca. 1785
French
ca. 1790
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