CIRCA 1820

This tripod torchere is conceived as a Roman candelabrum in the antique manner promoted by the Rome-trained architect C.H. Tatham's, Etchings of Ancient Ornamental Architecture, 1799. Its design, with reeded rim and Roman acanthus-wrapped pillar, derives in part from a marble antiquity from Hadrian's villa illustrated by the Italian architect G.B. Piranesi in Vasi, Candelabri e Cippi, Rome, 1778. Designers such as Tatham, the protégé of Henry Holland, and Vulliamy & Son took advantage of the decreased number of imported luxury objets d'art from Parisian marchands-merciers during the French wars of the early 19th century. Torcheres were among the most sought-after commissions they received.
The overall design recalls two pairs of bronze candelabra supplied in 1807-1808 by Royal suppliers Vulliamy & Son for the 8th Lord Kinnaird (d. 1826), one pair of which was acquired for the Royal Pavilion at Brighton in 1971 (see R. Smith, 'Vulliamy and the Kinnaird candelabra: Craftsmanship and Patronage in Regency London', Apollo, January 1997, pp. 30-34). Another similar example in bronze, likely to have been commissioned by John Russell, 6th Duke of Bedford (d. 1839), was sold Christie's house sale, Woburn Abbey, Bedford, 20-21 September 2004, lot 15.