Design for a Candelabrum

Edgar George Papworth Sr. was born into a family of noted stucco artists. He himself trained to become a sculptor, although he never appears to have become very successful in his trade. This design for a candelabrum most likely dates from his formative years, made either during his time studying at the Royal Academy (1827-1834) or the subsequent years he spent in Italy on a scholarship granted by the same institute. The design brings to mind Antique and classicizing designs for candelabra as they were published by Giovanni Battista Piranesi in his influential series Vasi, candelabra, cippi, sarcophagi (…) (Vases, candelabra, grave stones sarcophagi (…)), which was published in Rome in 1778. The inclusion of the two birds specifically recalls one of two candelabra by Piranesi which are now kept in the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford. Papworth uses his birds in a different way however, giving them a more essential role within the supporting structure of the candelabrum. Letting their floating leg rest on a vase is a witty solution to bring more balance to his design, which might otherwise have appeared somewhat frail in its base structure.