Description:
One of a pair of wrought iron candlesticks with double-strand twisted handles and hammered round bases, which were made by Cornelius Mahoney Kelley (1874-1954). Born in County Cork, Ireland, Kelley moved to the U.S. in 1889 and Greenfield, Massachusetts, in 1891 where he initially worked for a carriagemaker. By 1899, Kelley was renting space in Deerfield where he was the village blacksmith making horse shoes and repairing farm implements. Beginning around 1900, Kelley gradually shifted his work from blacksmithing to fashioning reproduction hardware, fireplace equipment, and iron lamps and candelabra inspired by colonial designs, and became an active member of the Deerfield Arts and Crafts Society and later Society of Deerfield Industries. These candlesticks are a variation on Cornelius Kelley's popular 'sword hilt candleholders which possessed an aura of 'the past' to the modern eye.The twisted handle design is Kelley's own distinctive weave, the "Kelley weave," an intricate four-ply braiding, which he started making in the 1920s. The Arts and Crafts movement, of which this is a local example, was considered finished in the U.S. by 1916. Kelley, who was more of a traditional blacksmith than artist, was never considered a "cutting edge" in the movement, but was a practical man who recognized the changes in society's needs and followed the artistic trends of the day in wrought iron work to become an American success story.
Label Text:
Pair of Candlesticks, Cornelius Kelley (1873-1954), Deerfield, Massachusetts, 1920-1940. Wrought iron. Gift of Louise Perrin, 1997.67
Born in Ireland, Cornelius Mahoney Kelley immigrated to the United States in 1889. By 1899, Kelley had become Deerfield’s village blacksmith making horse shoes and repairing farm implements. Given the artistic climate and appreciation for craftwork in Deerfield, Kelley had more success fashioning reproduction hardware, fireplace equipment, and iron lamps and candelabra inspired by colonial designs. These candlesticks are a variation on Kelley’s popular sword hilt candleholders which possessed an aura of “the past” to the modern eye.
Link to share this object record:
https://museums.fivecolleges.edu/detail.php?t=objects&type=ext&id_number=HD+97.67.1 |
