Early Brass Tapersticks
Tapersticks
tiny candlesticks often used to soften wax for sealing envelopes.
Smaller: Nuremberg, Cermany, ca. 1650. Just 3 3/8 inches tall. Made in two parts, the thin, finely turned broad bell base supporting an integral dished round mid-drip pan, fitted with a screw-threaded baluster-turned post and cylindrical candle cup which is capped by a downward sweeping bobeche. The base, drip-pan, and candle-cup decorated by incised lines. Presents beautifully yet small tear in the candlecup and lead-tightening of the screw thread. See Old Domestic Base-Metal Candlesticks, Michaelis. page 65, and Antique Brass Candlesticks, 1450-1750, Grove, pp. 24-25, for very similar examples.
Taller: True Queen Anne Cut-Corner Base Brass Taperstick, likely Birmingham, England, ca. 1730-1750. . (not one of the many later Victorian reproductions). Seamed column and the column peened underneath to the base About 5 ¼ inches tall. Stands straight. See the best reference: Birmingham Brass Candlesticks, Jean Burks, for insights into cut-corner and other forms of Queen Anne candlesticks.
WINDS FROM THE SEA. EXCEPTIONAL Early Fish Weathervane.
Likely J. W. Fiske
New York City, ca. 1870.
Form. Surface. Size.
Copper, with a complex weathered surface that has taken on a beautiful verdigris color while retaining a good amount of gilding and sizing. As weathervanes were of critical importance for centuries to foretell changes in weather, they also become an important American sculptural art form. The best examples, like this scarce full-bodied fish, have appealing sculptural design AND retain an authentic surface that reflects the environmental conditions that led to the aesthetic.
Note the balance of top and bottom fins, the graceful flowing lines of the body into the flared and corrugated tail, the repousse eyes, and that dramatic mouth.....
Dated 1776 Revolutionary War Soldier’s Pocketbook
.....SOLD
Wool needlework, stitched with the name I(J)AMES BOYSE LONDONDERRY. (NH) (17)76. Research shows that James Boyse of Londonderry enlisted to serve in the American Revolution on November 14, 1776. It is unknown if Boyse carried this pocketbook with him in battle, regardless it is a rarely found object created in that historic year that we can link definitively to a Revolutionary War soldier.
Rarely Found Trumpet Candlestick with
Ball Knop
England, ca. 1625-1675
.....SOLD
A particularly fine and rare example, with very broad base relative to the height, ribbed column, and no central drip pan, rather a bold ball knop. The ball knop was probably due to better burning tallow candles of the period, leading makers to believe that the drip pan could be eliminated. The ball also made the stick easier to hold. The ribbed form transitions from the plain shafts of the mid-17th century Commonwealth Period in which decoration of any kind was frowned upon, to a slightly later period as an artful pushback to earlier Puritan simplicity.
About 5 ¾ inches tall; diameter 5 1/8. Exceptional condition. See Fire and Light, Caspall, page 98, and the celebrated Lear Collection, figure 115, for nearly identical examples. Feels great in hand.
Three Bladed-Knop Gothic Candlestick
Northwest Europe or England, ca. 15th- early 16th century.
This brass candlestick features 3-discoid knops on the column which is peened underneath to a stepped, broadly flaring skirt with incised lines and ribbed decoration supporting a pronounced deep well/drip pan centered by a stepped-conical cone. The socket has moldings for aesthetics and added strength, and horizontal aperature in the lower half to aid removal of candle stubs.
Excellent condition with minor imperfections as expected from being over 500 years old!
About 8 3/8 inches tall. Scholarly references include Koper and Brons, RIKS Musuem, Amsterdam; Lear Collection, Copper-Alloy Candlesticks A.D. 200-1700, Christopher Bangs; Old Domestic Base-Metal Candlesticks, Michaelis; and Antique Brass Candlesticks, 1450-1750.
Gothic Candlestick with Teardrop Knop
Northwest Europe, ca. early 16th century.
Broad round base rising to a ribbed-conical support for a cast column with central tear-drop knop, topped with a flaring candle-cup with horizontal aperative. The column beautifully peened and turned underneath.
See Koper and Brons, RIKS Musuem, Amsterdam; Lear Collection, Copper-Alloy Candlesticks A.D. 200-1700, figure 136, and Lear Collection, figures 34-35 for similar examples.
Fine condition with minor imperfections. Stands about 8 ¼ inches tall; base diameter 5 1/8