Unknown
Pair of Candlesticksend of the 14th century

On view:

Geffen Galleries, Grandeur in Sacred Spaces

Pair of dark bronze pricket candlesticks with turned stems, scalloped drip pans, and three-legged bases with small figural feet

Artist or Maker: Unknown
Title: Pair of Candlesticks
Place Made: Belgium, Dinant
Date Made: end of the 14th century
Medium: Cast brass
Dimensions: .1) Height: 17 3/8 in. (44.2 cm); Diameter: 7 7/8 in. (20 cm); .2) Height: 17 1/2 in. (44.4 cm) Diameter: 7 7/8 in. (20 cm)
Credit Line: Gift of Varya and Hans Cohn
Accession Number: AC1992.152.102.1-.2
Classification: Furnishings
Collecting Area: Decorative Arts and Design
Curatorial Notes: In the late medieval era, the Netherlands was unrivaled as the center of brass production in Europe. Plentiful deposits of copper and zinc ores, essential to making brass, attracted skilled braziers to the region, and Flemish brass objects, such as these candlesticks, were widely exported throughout Europe. Rarely marked, they are difficult to attribute to specific makers or towns, although the city of Dinant on the Meuse River in Belgium became the hub of the medieval brass trade. These candlesticks were cast from molds based on wood balusters turned on a lathe. Their tapering shafts with graduated rings rising from a stepped base were among the most elaborate design options available at the time. Three cast feet in the form of lions provide maximum stability. The central pricket, or spike, is set in a broad drip pan that would catch melting wax and contain the outer edge of a large candle. Candles of that size would burn for a very long time, suggesting that these candlesticks were intended for use in a church rather than at home. Wax, as opposed to inexpensive but foul-smelling tallow, was favored for liturgical use and would have been appropriate for such grand fixtures.
Selected Bibliography: Thomas, Nancy, and Constantina Oldknow, eds. By Judgment of the Eye: The Varya and Hans Cohn Collection. Los Angeles: Hans Cohn, 1991.

Unknown
Pair of Candlesticksend of the 14th century

On view:

Geffen Galleries, Grandeur in Sacred Spaces

Artist or Maker: Unknown
Title: Pair of Candlesticks
Place Made: Belgium, Dinant
Date Made: end of the 14th century
Medium: Cast brass
Dimensions: .1) Height: 17 3/8 in. (44.2 cm); Diameter: 7 7/8 in. (20 cm); .2) Height: 17 1/2 in. (44.4 cm) Diameter: 7 7/8 in. (20 cm)
Credit Line: Gift of Varya and Hans Cohn
Accession Number: AC1992.152.102.1-.2
Classification: Furnishings
Collecting Area: Decorative Arts and Design
Curatorial Notes: In the late medieval era, the Netherlands was unrivaled as the center of brass production in Europe. Plentiful deposits of copper and zinc ores, essential to making brass, attracted skilled braziers to the region, and Flemish brass objects, such as these candlesticks, were widely exported throughout Europe. Rarely marked, they are difficult to attribute to specific makers or towns, although the city of Dinant on the Meuse River in Belgium became the hub of the medieval brass trade. These candlesticks were cast from molds based on wood balusters turned on a lathe. Their tapering shafts with graduated rings rising from a stepped base were among the most elaborate design options available at the time. Three cast feet in the form of lions provide maximum stability. The central pricket, or spike, is set in a broad drip pan that would catch melting wax and contain the outer edge of a large candle. Candles of that size would burn for a very long time, suggesting that these candlesticks were intended for use in a church rather than at home. Wax, as opposed to inexpensive but foul-smelling tallow, was favored for liturgical use and would have been appropriate for such grand fixtures.
Selected Bibliography: Thomas, Nancy, and Constantina Oldknow, eds. By Judgment of the Eye: The Varya and Hans Cohn Collection. Los Angeles: Hans Cohn, 1991.