A FINE AND RARE CHARLES II SILVER SNUFFERS STAND WITH CANDLE SOCKET

CIRCA 1685, MAKER'S MARK WB MULLET BELOW (JACKSON, 3RD ED., PAGE 141, LINE 5)

Details

A FINE AND RARE CHARLES II SILVER SNUFFERS STAND WITH CANDLE SOCKET
Circa 1685, maker's mark WB mullet below (Jackson, 3rd ed., page 141, line 5)
On octagonal spreading foot rising to a gadrooned and knopped stem, with rectangular deep snuffer holder flanked by a cylindrical socket and a scroll handle, one side engraved with a coat-of-arms within crossed frond mantling; the snuffers of scissor form, engraved with a crest, with maker's mark only, marked twice under base, on either side of snuffer holder, on each scissor snuffer handle, and three times inside snuffers, also engraved under base with scratchweight 11=17
7in. (17.7cm.) high; 10oz. (317gr.)

Provenance

Sotheby's, London, December 14, 1967, lot 123
S.J. Shrubsole (London), 1967

Literature

Apollo, March 1968, illus. p. 235

Further details

Detail of crest and coat-of-arms on snuffers and stand, lot 286

Lot Essay

A variant of snuffers with tray, in which the snuffers fit vertically into a stand, was produced circa 1680-1725. It is rare to find both the stand and snuffers of such an early date remaining ensuite and marked by the same maker, as they were typically manufactured by different craftsmen. It is extremely unusual for the stand to incorporate a candle socket. Three examples of this rare form with conical extinguisher are now in the Manchester City Art Gallery. One of these, dating to 1688, shares the same maker's mark as the present snuffers and stand, WB mullet below; its stand bears a great resemblance to the present lot. However, only the stand, which features a detachable candlearm, is marked. Of the two remaining sets in the Manchester collection, only one dating to 1697 features elements marked by the same silversmith, John Bernard (see J. F. Hayward "English Silver in the Collection of Mr. and Mrs. Edgar Assheton Bennett," Connoisseur, June 1956, p. 223-28).

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