Object Description
This is a stunning antique suite of candleabra comprising a large pair of English Old Sheffield plate silver on copper table candelabra and the matching pair of Old Sheffield plate silver on copper candlesticks, all circa 1780 in date.
Each of the splendid candelabra features a stunning stem with an acanthus cast socket, detachable arms with two foliage cast branches, each raised on decorative circular bases.
The attention to detail is fantastic, and they are certain to attract attention wherever they are placed.
Condition:
In really excellent condition, please see photos for confirmation of condition.
Dimensions in cm:
Height 49 cm x Width 45 cm x Depth 15 cm – Candelabra
Height 29 cm x Width 15 cm x Depth 15 cm – Candlesticks
Dimensions in inches:
Height 1 foot, 7 inches x Width 1 foot, 6 inches x Depth 6 inches – Candelabra
Height 11 inches x Width 6 inches x Depth 6 inches – Candlesticks
Old Sheffield Plate – or ‘fused plate’ as it is sometimes known- was the first commercially viable method of plating metal.
The material was accidentally invented by Thomas Boulsover, of Sheffield’s Cutlers Company, in 1743. While trying to repair the handle of a customer’s decorative knife, he heated it too much and the silver started to melt. When he examined the damaged handle, he noticed that the silver and copper had fused very strongly. Experiments showed that the two metals behaved as one when he tried to reshape them, even though he could clearly see two different layers.
Boulsover set up in business, funded by Strelley Pegge of Beauchief, and carried out further experiments in which he put a thin sheet of silver on a thick ingot of copper and heated the two together to fuse them. When the composite block was hammered or rolled to make it thinner, the two metals were reduced in thickness at similar rates. Using this method, Boulsover was able to make sheets of metal which had a thin layer of silver on the top surface and a thick layer of copper underneath. When this new material was used to make buttons, they looked and behaved like silver buttons but were a fraction of the cost.
The technique Boulsover developed was to sandwich an ingot of copper between two plates of silver, tightly bind it with wire, heat it in a furnace and then mill it out into a sheet, from which objects could be made.
Our reference: A5336