Lot Essay
Spielleuchter were small candlesticks with flat spreading bases placed at the corners of gaming tables. Games were an important component of the nobility's social life. Seelig records for instance that in 1766 Prince Bishop Adam Friedrich von Seinsheim instructed his brother that twenty-four of gaming tables would be needed for an evening gala held at the Würzburg Rezidenz. On ordinary days, only fourteen of such tables would be necessary (Lorenz Seelig, Silber und Gold, p. 596).