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Lot Essay
In 1953, when Peggy and I were in London for the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II, Cecil Turner invited us to the opening of the Antique Dealers' Fair at Grosvenor House. We were admitted before the general public and thus were able to stroll around at our leisure. Before going, Peggy told me, rather sternly, that I was not to buy anything unless we really wanted it and could use it. We had been in the hall for only ten minutes when Peggy spotted these candlesticks from about one hundred feet away. She immediately told Cecil Turner that she would like to have them, and he was able to arrange their purchase. I disapproved of Peggy's violating the rule that she had established, but I have enjoyed the candlesticks very much over the years. In addition to their innate beauty, they are also of interest because they belonged, until we bought them, to the illustrious Shaftesbury family, for whom they had been made more than three hundred years ago. - David Rockefeller. (D. Fennimore et al., p. 381).
The present candlesticks were probably commissioned on the occasion of the marriage of Anthony Ashley-Cooper, 2nd Earl of Shaftesbury’s and Lady Dorothy Manners, daughter of 8th Earl of Rutland, in 1669. Anthony Ashley-Cooper, 2nd Earl of Shaftesbury was elected a member of parliament for Weymouth and Melcombe Regis in 1673, a seat he held until 1679.
The 2nd Earl of Shaftesbury’s home was St Giles House, East Dorset, a seat still in the family. The present candlesticks remained in the family until their sale in 1952. Prominent owners of them have included the 3rd Earl of Shaftesbury (1671–1713), who is remembered chiefly as a writer and philosopher and the 7th Earl of Shaftesbury (1801-1885), a noted philanthropist and social reformer. Christopher Hussey published three articles about St Giles in Country Life (See, Country Life, "St. Giles's House, Dorset," September 10, 17, 24, 1943).
A similar set of four Charles II silver candlesticks, mark of Jacob Bodendick, London, 1677 were sold Anonymous sale; Christie's London, 24 October 2002, lot 313 and published The Glory of the Goldsmith: Magnificent Gold and Silver from the Al-Tajir Collection, London, 1989, no. 37, p. 57.
The present candlesticks were probably commissioned on the occasion of the marriage of Anthony Ashley-Cooper, 2nd Earl of Shaftesbury’s and Lady Dorothy Manners, daughter of 8th Earl of Rutland, in 1669. Anthony Ashley-Cooper, 2nd Earl of Shaftesbury was elected a member of parliament for Weymouth and Melcombe Regis in 1673, a seat he held until 1679.
The 2nd Earl of Shaftesbury’s home was St Giles House, East Dorset, a seat still in the family. The present candlesticks remained in the family until their sale in 1952. Prominent owners of them have included the 3rd Earl of Shaftesbury (1671–1713), who is remembered chiefly as a writer and philosopher and the 7th Earl of Shaftesbury (1801-1885), a noted philanthropist and social reformer. Christopher Hussey published three articles about St Giles in Country Life (See, Country Life, "St. Giles's House, Dorset," September 10, 17, 24, 1943).
A similar set of four Charles II silver candlesticks, mark of Jacob Bodendick, London, 1677 were sold Anonymous sale; Christie's London, 24 October 2002, lot 313 and published The Glory of the Goldsmith: Magnificent Gold and Silver from the Al-Tajir Collection, London, 1989, no. 37, p. 57.