Collection Online as of March 20, 2023

Pair of Candle Stands (torchères)

c. 1773

Part of a set. See all set records

Thomas Chippendale

(British, 1718–1779)

England

Gilt-wood, gesso

Each: 154 x 56 x 51 cm (60 5/8 x 22 1/16 x 20 1/16 in.)

John L. Severance Fund 2018.203

Location

203A British Painting and Decorative Arts

Fun Fact

Candle stands usually held silver or crystal candelabra that were lit for evening entertainment.

Description

This pair of gilded candle stands was made by Thomas Chippendale, the most renowned cabinetmaker in eighteenth-century London, for the grand drawing room of Brocket Hall, a large country house in Hertfordshire, England. With finely carved acanthus leaves, swags, fluting, and oval masks depicting the Roman goddess Diana, these candle stands exhibit Chippendale’s masterful understanding of neoclassical proportion, scale, and ornament. His landmark book of furniture designs, The Gentleman and Cabinet-Maker’s Director (first published in 1754), was highly admired as a source of inspiration by cabinetmakers and architects around England as well as in Europe and America.

Provenance

probably 1773-1923

Sir Peniston Lamb, 1st Viscount Melbourne [1748-1819], commissioned from the maker, then by descent to Admiral of the Fleet Lord Walter Talbot Kerr [1839-1927].

?–1923

Admiral of the Fleet Lord Walter Talbot Kerr [1839-1927]

1923–1934

(Messrs. Foster, house sale at Brocket Hall, Hertfordshire, March 9, 1923, no. 364, sold to Sir Charles Nall-Cain, 1st Lord Brocket [1866-1934]

1923–1934

Sir Charles Nall-Cain, 1st Lord Brocket [1866-1934], then by descent to the Lord Brocket Will Trust

1934–?

Lord Brocket Will Trust

1995

(Christie's, London, November 16, 1995, lot 357, sold to Mr. S. Jon Gerstenfeld, Washington, DC)

1995–?

S. Jon Gerstenfeld, Washington, DC

2018

(Christie's, London, July 5, 2018, no. 9, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art)

2018–

The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH

Citations

Tipping. H. Avray. "Brockett Hall-III: The Seat of Sir Charles Nall-Cain." Country Life 58, no. 1489 (July 18, 1925) 96-103. Reproduced: p. 97, pl. 2

Tipping, H. Avray. English Homes, Period VI - Volume 1, Late Georgian, 1760-1820. London: Offices of Country Life, 1926. Reproduced: p. 19, plate 30

Gilbert, Christopher. The Life and Work of Thomas Chippendale. London: Studio Vista, 1978. Mentioned: p. 263 (v. 1); Reproduced: p. 10, figs. 18 & 19 (v. 2) ; p. 209, (v. 2) figs. 381-381

Christie's London. Important English Furniture. July 7, 1994. no. 100. Mentioned: p. 120; Reproduced: p. 121

Christie's London. Important English Furniture. November 16, 1995. Lot 357. Mentioned: p. 178; Reproduced: p. 179

Lennox-Boyd, Edward. Masterpieces of English Furniture: The Gerstenfeld Collection. London: Christie's Books, 1998. Reproduced: pp. 96-97; Mentioned: pp. 95-96.

Christie's London. Thomas Chippendale: 300 Years. July 5, 2018, Lot 9. Mentioned: p 56; Reproduced: p. 57

Harrison, Stephen. “Acquisitions 2018: Decorative Art and Design.” Cleveland Art: Cleveland Museum of Art Members Magazine 59, no. 2 (March/April 2019): 10-12. Reproduced and Mentioned: P. 12.

Griswold, William M. “Recent Acquisitions (2013-20) at the Cleveland Museum of Art.” Burlington Magazine 163, no. 1414 (January 2021): 93-104. Mentioned and reproduced: P. 96, no. 5

Exhibition history

No existing exhibition history.

British Gallery Reinstallation (June 2020). The Cleveland Museum of Art (organizer).