Torchère
Category
Furniture
Date
circa 1815
Materials
Amboyna, giltwood, softwood, iron
Measurements
109 cm (Height); 33.3 cm (Diameter)
Place of origin
England
Order this imageCollection
Attingham Park, Shropshire
NT 608153
Summary
An amboyna, giltwood and iron torchère, English, circa 1815. Topped by a stepped circular amboyna-veneered top above a frieze with alternating bosses and corolla. Raised on three square-section supports each topped by a ram's head and each raised on a gilt iron paw foot, with bent ankle. The three sides filled with a pair of crossed bars, rosettes at the terminals and at the point where they cross. All raised on a cutaway bracket plinth with cut corners and shaped aprons.
Full description
This torchère is the same model as those supplied to William, 6th Duke of Devonshire (d. 1858) for the Painted Hall at Chatsworth around 1820 (sold Sotheby's, 5 - 7 October 2010, Lot 484). Identical torchères were also supplied to Abbots Ripton Hall, Cambridgeshire and Harewood House, Yorkshire. Another pair were sold by Christie's, 16 December 2010, Lot 11. The latter pair was made of patinated bronze; those supplied to the Duke of Devonshire were of gilt bronze. All of these torchere stands are associated with candelabra, which are often attributed to William Collins of 227 The Strand, described in 1822 as 'Glass manufacturer to His Majesty and their Royal Highnesses The Duke of Sussex and Princess Elizabeth'. Collins also supplied magnificent lighting for the Duke of Northumberland at Northumberland House in 1823.
Provenance
Attingham collection; bequeathed to the National Trust by Edith Teresa Hulton, Lady Berwick (1890-1972) and transferred to the National Trust by H.M. Treasury in 1976.