This an “assembled” pair of extremely rare 18th century pewter candlesticks. The rarity makes the mismatch seem like not such a big deal (but know the price takes the mismatch into consideration)! Peter Hornsby, in Pewter of the Western World, 1600-1850, tells us that American and British pewter candlesticks “virtually disappear in the eighteenth century” and that those from Europe are rarely found. In 2017, Peggy researched prices of these Rococo and “wrythen” (or twisted) forms and watched two pair sell in Austria for a price that compared to $24,000 in US dollars for each pair. The research she undertook was to fink the market value for the only other pair of these that we have ever owned. So, here we offer a mismatched pair—for far less than the auction price! The candlestick on the left, is 6 ½” tall x 4 ¾” diameter of the base. It has been etched “A.I.I” and “1771”. These marks were likely made by a later owner. The stick is 30 to 50 years earlier than the inscribed date. As you see in the photos, this candlestick leans just a bit. The attached bobeche has a bit of a bend and a few nicks. Please look at all of the photos which tell the story of the pair. The candlestick on the right is 6 ¾” tall x 4 ¼” base diameter. The bobeche on this stick is lightly fluted. It looks like both candlesticks may have touchmarks in the center of the bases—but any marks are totally illegible, if there at all. Please look at the photos for condition then email us if you have questions. Other than the comments above, we find the condition of both incredibly good with expected wear and age considered. Hornsby tells us that candlesticks of this time period are so scarce that pinpointing the country of origin is very difficult. But, comparing to the three similar examples in Hornsby’s book, we date these candlesticks to 1730-1760 and attribute them to the Alpine countries (Austria, France, Germany, Italy, Liechtenstein, Monaco, Slovenia, and Switzerland).

#6873    $850