MAKER'S MARK OF JOHN WINTER AND CO., SHEFFIELD 1774

These candlesticks epitomise the neo-classical style of the second half of the 18th century as promoted by the architects Robert Adam (1728-1792), James 'Athenian' Stuart (1713-1788) and James Wyatt (1746-1813). The athenienne shaft, rams' heads and the greek key motif are inspired by the studies of ancient classical architecture recorded by Stuart and Revett in Antiquities of Athens, first published in 1762 and Caylus' Recueil d'antiquités égyptiennes, étrusques, gréques, romaines et gauloises published in seven volumes between 1752 and 1767. The aristocratic patrons of the day who had been inspired by the sights of antique Roman and Greek architecture, which they had admired on the Grand Tour, turned to these architects to design their London and country houses