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Lot Essay
This extraordinary pair of candelabra demonstrates Edward C. Moore's genius for melding form and ornament and his complete mastery of simple, unpretentious decorative themes. As chief designer for Tiffany & Co. from 1868 to 1891, Moore turned to the metalwork of Japan with its emphasis on natural motifs and handcrafting to create a new style, devoid of historical revivals that were anathema to critics and design reformers. While other designers working in the Japanese taste simply grafted natural decoration on to essentially Victorian shapes, Moore allowed the ornament, whether flora or fauna, to give shape to the overall form. Here, the ornamental motif of the candelabra is a wisteria vine and the candlearms have been treated as twisting vines whose tendrils grasp the sockets in a unique fashion.
Candelabra in the Japanese taste are a rarity and this pair is rarer still for its large size. Only one other pair of comparable size is known, sold from The Jerome Rapoport Collection of American Aesthetic Silver at Sotheby's New York on June 20, 1996, lot 20. Rapoport's nine-light candelabra exhibit the same shape as the present examples, but feature mermaids and mermen in place of Japanese motifs. A suite of small two-branch candelabra and two candlesticks in the Japanese taste sold in these Rooms on December 10, 1998, lot 321.
This pair of candelabra is recorded in the Tiffany & Co. pattern book as "Candelabra Gourd Twist". The ledger indicates that the cost to fashion each candelabrum, weighing 62.85oz., including the hammering and mounting with parcel-gilt was $301.50.
Candelabra in the Japanese taste are a rarity and this pair is rarer still for its large size. Only one other pair of comparable size is known, sold from The Jerome Rapoport Collection of American Aesthetic Silver at Sotheby's New York on June 20, 1996, lot 20. Rapoport's nine-light candelabra exhibit the same shape as the present examples, but feature mermaids and mermen in place of Japanese motifs. A suite of small two-branch candelabra and two candlesticks in the Japanese taste sold in these Rooms on December 10, 1998, lot 321.
This pair of candelabra is recorded in the Tiffany & Co. pattern book as "Candelabra Gourd Twist". The ledger indicates that the cost to fashion each candelabrum, weighing 62.85oz., including the hammering and mounting with parcel-gilt was $301.50.