- Title
- Candelabrum (samadan)
- Date Made
- circa 1850
- Medium
- Bidri ware (tarkashi and tehnishan techniques)
- Dimensions
- Overall: 19 1/2 x 14 1/4 in. (49.53 x 36.19 cm)
- Accession Number
- M.83.218.7a-d
- Collecting Area
- South and Southeast Asian Art
- Curatorial Notes
This is a tripartite candelabrum, or candle-tree with branches for three candlesticks. The S-shaped branches are detachable, so that the amount of illumination could be adjusted or an individual candlestick could be used as a mobile torch. Grand candelabra became fashionable accoutrements for the sophisticated dinner table in the 1800s. They remained popular until the invention and widespread use of the incandescent light bulb in the late 19th century.
The base of the tapering central spire owes its origin to European vase forms, which had first entered the South Asian visual vocabulary during the 17th century with the adoption of the baluster vase motif in Mughal architecture. It was subsequently reemphasized in the mid-19th century in the stylistic renaissance that revitalized South Asian decorative arts with the assimilation of European design influences and vessel forms. The visually misunderstood "leonine" form of the splayed feet of the supporting salver reveal a remote heritage from Iranian metalwork. Made of the zinc-based alloy known as bidri ware, the ornamentation consists of overlaid silver sheet (tehnishan technique) and inlaid silver wire (tarkashi technique) in the form of poppy plants densely grouped within tapering cartouches, scrolling flowering vines and foliage, and geometric motifs.
- Selected Bibliography
- Sanfrani, Shehbaz H., ed. Golconda and Hyderabad. Bombay: Marg Publications, 1992.