MARK OF THOMAS HEMING, LONDON, 1770

DESIGN OF THE CANDLESTICKS
These candlesticks were commissioned from Thomas Heming, Principal Goldsmith to the King, by Lord Arundell for his Wiltshire seat, Wardour Castle, a Palladian palace begun in 1769 and completed in 1776 to the designs of the architect James Paine (1717-1789). They are almost identical in design to a pair made for the 3rd Earl of Bute (1713-1792), sold Christie's, London, 3 July 1996, lot 77 and a further pair, part of the Watkin Williams-Wynn Toilet service, commissioned from Heming by Frances, Lady Williams-Wynn (1717-1803) as a gift to her daughter-in-law Lady Henrietta Somerset (1748-1769), on the occasion of her marriage to Sir Watkin Williams-Wynn 4th Bt. in 1768 (NMW A 50386-414).

The 'antique' style of the candlestick takes its inspiration from the depiction of Flora, the festive goddess of fertility, flowers and Spring, formed as a caryatid enslaved by love and bearing a candle. Whilst the subject derives from Ovid's Metamorphoses, concerning the loves of the gods, parallels can be drawn between this cast element and the caryatids employed in the decorative schemes at King Francois I of France's palace at Fontainebleau, which in turn can be traced back to the work of Jacques Androuet Du Cerceau (1510-1584), and the designs of Jean Le Pautre (1618-1682), Dessignateur et Graveur to the French Royal Academy, Livre de Mirroirs, Tables et Gueridons, later re-issued in London in 1676 by John Overton.

These designs also inspired Anthony Nelme. He made candlesticks with similar stems and ornament in the late 17th and early 18th century. A pair of candelabra of this form with two light branches, unmarked and dating from the end of the 17th century, is in the Mallett Bequest, Ashmolean Museum, Oxford. The form also appears in still life paintings by the Dutch born artist Pieter Gerritsz van Roestraten (1630-1700), who worked in London from 1666 until his death in 1700. One such painting is in the collection of the Rijksmusum, Amsterdam. Timothy Schroder in his Ashmolean catalogue, op. cit., 2009, pp. 433-434, also cites a Dutch versions by the late 17th century silversmith Adam Loofs of The Hague in 1687 (BK-1966-10).

The present candlesticks were evidently made to match other examples from the Nelme workshop. Four examples by Thomas Heming, 1770, of similar form to the present examples, were sold by Sotheby's, London, 3 March 1964, lot 157. Another model of figural candlesticks supplied by Heming for the refurbishment of Wardour Castle in 1770 depicting Flora is also related to le Pautre's designs, and would likely have accompanied a dressing or sideboard table. A pair of this model was sold Christie's, London, 12 June 2006, lot 113 and is illustrated in Vanessa Brett's The Sotheby's Directory of Silver 1600-1940, London, p. 222, no. 984.

THOMAS HEMING
Thomas Heming was the son of a Ludlow merchant and was apprenticed in 1738 to the goldsmith Edmund Bodington, but on the same day was turned over to the Huguenot goldsmith Peter Archambo. A. G. Grimwade, London Goldsmiths 1697-1837, London, 1982, p. 543, describes his early work as showing 'a French delicacy of taste and refinement of execution which is unquestionably inherited from his master Archambo'. He registered his first mark in 1745 and soon acquired many good clients including John, 3rd Earl of Bute. Most importantly for Heming, it was Bute's relationship with George, Prince of Wales, later King George III, that was to lead to Heming's appointment in 1760 as Principal Goldsmith to the King.

He was to hold this post until 1782, when he was forced to resign after a malicious campaign to discredit him through accusations of excessive charges. His most noted works are the toilet service made for Queen Matilda of Denmark, now in the collection of the Kunstindustrie Museum, Copenhagen and the Watkin Williams-Wynn toilet service mentioned earlier. He also created a magnificent wine cistern of 1,457 ounces for the Speaker of the House of Commons Sir John Cust (1718-1770), at Belton House.

Henry, 8th Lord Arundell of Wardour, by Joshua Reynolds (1723-1792). © Dayton Art Institute, 2023.