Candle stand
Category
Furniture
Date
circa 1675
Materials
Carved and ebonised pine, beechwood and fruitwood, caned tops
Measurements
123.5 x 43 cm
Place of origin
Holland
Order this imageCollection
Ham House, Surrey
NT 1139777.1
Summary
A candlestand, one a pair, circa 1675, probably Dutch or French, the base of carved and ebonised softwood, the top with a central cane panel. Part of a set with side table 1140049. The octagonal top centred by a panel of cane within a painted veneered border. The base turned with opposing balusters and a variety of knops, all carved with acanthus, on a base of three downswept legs terminating in inswept scroll feet.
Full description
This pair of candlestands 'of black ebony cain’d', ensuite with a side table (NT 1140049) and, originally, a 'greate looking glasse with an ebony frame caned', are listed as furnishing The Duke’s Dressing Room in the 1679 inventory of Ham House. The inventory taken two years earlier in 1677 is less precise, recording only a table and candle stands of 'ebony frame'. They were originally protected by leather covers. The design of these three pieces of furniture is French in origin - the scrolled feet of the candlestands relates to those in a drawing of c. 1680 by Nicodemus Tessin - but they may have been purchased for Ham House in Holland in 1672 when money was 'payed out for the Lady Dutchess of Lauderdale in Holland by Mistress V. der Huva', a transaction recorded in a document which also refers to 'a table and two gadons [gueridons, or candlestands]'. The idea of the triad of stands, a table and a mirror originated in France but was swiflty taken up across Europe. This table and stands - being ebonised and lined with cane - are particularly rare. One furniture historian has noted that the cane 'cannot have been especially practical and therefore probably reflects the fact that caning was highly fashionable at this time.'
Provenance
Ham House's inventories of 1679, 1683 (possibly 1677), in the Duke's Dressing Room. Acquired in 1948 by HM Government when Sir Lyonel, 4th Bt (1854 – 1952) and Sir Cecil Tollemache, 5th Bt (1886 – 1969) presented Ham House to the National Trust, and entrusted to the care of the Victoria & Albert Museum, until 1990, when returned to the care of the National Trust, and to which ownership was transferred in 2002.
References
Thornton and Tomlin 1980 Peter Thornton, and Maurice Tomlin. “The Furnishing and Decoration of Ham House.” Furniture History, The Journal of The Furniture History Society Vol.XVI, 1980, fig 58 Bowett 2002: Adam Bowett, English Furniture 1660-1714, 2002, p.126 Rowell 2013: Christopher Rowell (ed.), Ham House, 400 Years of Collecting and Patronage, Yale University Press, New Haven & London 2013, 131-2