Research
Silvered and gilt nickel silver. The Corinthian column shaft issuing a central candle post surrounded by an upper tier of three scrolling candle arms and lower tier of six scrolling candle arms. Each arm with acanthus leaf decoration, terminating in stylized, palm leaf drip pan and trumpet-form foliate capital. The whole raised on a square incurved pyramidal base on a leaf molded plinth with acanthine scrolled corners, each face of the base set with silvered panel, one side of which is engraved with the Levy-Lawson coat of arms.
Marks:
Inscribed to the base: JAMES DIXON & SONS / SHEFFIELD
Stamped to the underside: J D & S and EP
Engraved with the Levy-Lawson crest (A ram holding in the mouth a trefoil, and resting the dexter foreleg on a quatrefoil) and motto, Of Old I Hold
Provenance:
Almost certainly Edward Levy-Lawson, 1st Baron Burnham
Collection of Baroness Gabriele von Langendorff, New York.
The present pair of candelabra, of palatial scale at nearly 4 feet tall, bears the trademark and inscription for the firm of James Dixon & Sons, major nineteenth century Sheffield manufacturers of silver, silver plate, and Britannia metal. Additionally, the bases of the candelabra prominently display the engraved crest and motto of the Levy-Lawson family, English newspaper proprietors and politicians, and founders of the London paper, The Daily Telegraph.
While candelabra of three to five lights of Corinthian column form are noted in Dixon’s trade catalogues, examples of the enormous size, complexity and purity of design of the present pair, are extremely rare and were likely only made on the occasion of an international exhibition or for important commissions deriving from this.
Although there was a taste among the Victorian elite for neoclassicism in interior decoration and furniture, it was extremely rare in an age more informed by curvaceous rococo forms. Hence, the design of the present candelabra may be considered exceedingly uncommon, as none of the prevailing Victorian aesthetic is detectable within their exceptionally pure, but nonetheless inventive, neoclassical design.
Full research report available on request.