Pair of candlesticks (part of a toilet service)

During the late seventeenth and early eighteenth century, the silver toilet set evolved into one of the most fashionable luxury accessories and was an eloquent symbol of the owner’s social status. Intact "garnitures de toilette" are rare but itemized descriptions include a mirror, an ewer and basin, glove trays, various boxes and jars for cosmetics and ointments, scent bottles, and two or sometimes four short candlesticks, besides other objects. Given their small size, this pair of candlesticks is believed to have been part of a toilet set made by the Paris silversmith Joseph Charvet in 1758–59. Their delicate ornament, pronounced curves, and swirling gadrooning all indicate the fully developed Rococo style.


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 as illustrated by this pair of candlesticks.