Online Encyclopedia

Search over 40,000 articles from the original, classic Encyclopedia Britannica, 11th Edition.

CANDLESTICK

Online Encyclopedia
Originally appearing in Volume V05, Page 180 of the 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica.
» Make a correction to this article.
» Add information or comments to this article.
Spread the word: del.icio.us del.icio.us it!

CANDLESTICK , the receptacle for holding a See also:

candle, nowadays made in various See also:art-forms. The word was formerly used for any See also:form of support on which See also:lights, whether candles or lamps, were fixed; thus a See also:candelabrum (q.v.) is sometimes spoken of from tradition as a candlestick, e.g. as when See also:Moses was commanded to make a candlestick for the See also:tabernacle, of hammered See also:gold, a See also:talent in See also:weight, and consisting of a See also:base with a See also:shaft rising out of it and six arms, and with seven lamps supported on the summits of the six arms and central shaft. When See also:Solomon built the See also:temple, he placed in it ten See also:golden candlesticks, five on the See also:north and five on the See also:south See also:side of the See also:Holy See also:Place; but after the Babylonish captivity the golden candlestick was again placed in the temple, as it had been before in the tabernacle by Moses. On the destruction of See also:Jerusalem by See also:Titus, it was carried with other spoils to See also:Rome. Representations of the seven-branched candlestick, as it is called, occur on the See also:arch of Titus at Rome, and on antiquities found in the Catacombs at Rome. The See also:primitive form of candlestick was a See also:torch made of slips of bark, See also:vine tendrils or See also:wood dipped in See also:wax or See also:tallow, tied together and held in the See also:hand by the See also:lower end, such as are frequently figured on See also:ancient painted vases. The next step was to attach to them a See also:cup (See also:discus) to catch the dripping wax or tallow. A candlestick may be either " See also:flat " or " tall." The former has a See also:short See also:stem, rising from a dish, and is usually furnished with an extinguisher fitting into a socket; the latter has a See also:pillar which may be only a few inches in height or may rise to several feet, and rarely has an extinguisher. The flat variety is some- times called a " bedroom candlestick." The beginnings of this interesting and often beautiful appliance are not exactly known, but it See also:dates certainly as far back as the 14th See also:century and is probably older. It is most usually of See also:metal, earthenware or See also:china, but originally it was made of some hard wood and had no socketed pillar, the candle fitting upon a metal spike, in the See also:fashion still See also:familiar in the See also:case of many See also:church candlesticks. It has been constantly influenced by mobiliary and architectural fashions, and has varied, as it still varies, from the severest simplicity of form and material to the most elaborate See also:artistic treatment and the costliest materials—gold and See also:silver, crystal, See also:marble and See also:enamel. Previous to the 17th century, See also:iron, See also:latten, See also:bronze and See also:copper were chiefly used, but thenceforward the 1 So See also:Baronius, See also:Ann. ad ann.

544. most elegant examples were chiefly of silver, though in more See also:

modern periods See also:Sheffield See also:plate, silver plate and china became exceedingly popular. Sometimes the base and See also:sconce are of one material and the pillar of another, as when the former are of silver and the pillar of marble or china. The choice and See also:combination of materials are, indeed, See also:infinite. The golden See also:age of the candlestick lasted, roughly speaking, from the third See also:quarter of the 17th century to the end of the 18th. The later Jacobean, See also:Queen See also:Anne and See also:early Georgian forms were often extremely elegant, with broad bases, See also:round, See also:oval or square and swilling stems. See also:Fine examples of these periods, especially when of silver, are much sought after and command constantly augmenting prices. As with most domestic appliances the See also:history of the candlestick is an unceasing tendency towards simplicity, the most elaborate and fantastic forms, animals and See also:reptiles, the monstrous creatures of See also:mythology, lions and men-at-arms, angels and cupids, having gradually given place to architectural motives such as the See also:baluster stem and to the classic See also:grace of the See also:Adam See also:style. The candlestick in its modern form is, indeed, artistically among the least unsatisfactory of See also:household plenishings.

End of Article: CANDLESTICK

Additional information and Comments

There are no comments yet for this article.
» Add information or comments to this article.
Please link directly to this article:
Highlight the code below, right click, and select "copy." Then paste it into your website, email, or other HTML.
Site content, images, and layout Copyright © 2006 - Net Industries, worldwide.
Do not copy, download, transfer, or otherwise replicate the site content in whole or in part.

Links to articles and home page are always encouraged.

[back]
CANDLEMAS (Lat. festum candelarum live luminum) 		[next]
CANDLISH, ROBERT SMITH (1806—1873)

Site © 2006 - Net Industries