Sir William Chambers illustrated a related design for a griffin candlestick in 1791, in the third edition of his Treatise on the Decorative Part of Civil Architecture. The design is an additional plate illustrating 'ornamental utensils, designed for the Earl of Charlemont, for Lord Melbourne, and for some decorations for my own house'. Matthew Boulton made several 'griffin' vases and it is possible that Chambers provided him with the design or model (N. Goodison, Ormolu: The Work of Matthew Boulton, London, 1974, pp. 157-158, pl. 89-93).
A similar pair of candlesticks was sold anonymously, in these Rooms, 15 November 1990, lot 1.

See also lot 352 in the Humphrey Whitbread Collection, to be sold in these Rooms, 5 April 2001.