NUREMBERG, EARLY 17TH CENTURY

This pair of candlesticks is unusual for the etched decoration and the very deep wells of the square bases. This type of square-based design, such as the candlestick illustrated in Bourne and Brett 1991 (loc. cit), was widespread and had a prolonged influence in Scandinavia, Spain and Portugal. The etched foliate decoration is typical of the Nuremberg output around 1600, as can be witnessed on many caskets and other metal work of the period. The shape of the pair is Italianate in flavour, an effect further enhanced by the darker lacquer covering the surface, and although the influence is clearly from there, whether or not the candlesticks were made for the Italian market remains unclear.