A pair of English ormolu twelve-light candelabra

BY ELKINGTON & CO, BIRMINGHAM, SECOND HALF 19TH CENTURY

Details

A pair of English ormolu twelve-light candelabra
By Elkington & Co, Birmingham, Second half 19th Century
Each surmounted by a cherub, within twelve candle branches, issuing from a dish-shaped platform, with horizontal supports, the six alternating branches with additional scrolled supports, the central upright with an ovoid section cast in relief with a mask and foliage to three sides, above three scythe-holding female figures, the companion with three scythe-holding male figures, within three scrolled supports, on a triform foot, each angle with a crouching game bird, on scrolled foot, the underside stamped ELKINGTON & Co/8904, fitted for electricity
42½ in. (108 cm.) high (2)

Lot Essay

One of Birmingham's foremost silversmiths, Elkington & Co employed many well known artists to provide designs for the firm's broad range of products; Auguste-Adolphe Willms (1827-1899) was appointed design director in 1849 and much influenced the firm's production in the second half of the nineteenth century. Previously he had studied in Paris and had worked for Christofle and Froment-Meurice.

Willms designed many pieces in the fashionable Graeco-Pompeian style for the International Exhibition of 1862.

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