Description: One of two brass chamberstick with a candle holder in the center of a round dished pan. The socket has a wide flange or bobeche; over a shaft with two incised circles on each side of a group of six molded bands on the upper shaft, and a side slide ejector with a round knob extending from a vertical slit; a scroll handle with thumb plate held to the pan with two brass rivets; and an iron plug on the underside of the slightly raised pan base securing the stem to the pan. A chamberstick was designed to be easily moved from place to place, from which to light other candles or a fire. The scroll handle, which replaced the elongated carrying handle in the 1730s, made it easy and stable to carry; the width of the pan and low height of the shaft prevented it from overturning and starting a fire; and the dished base caught candle drippings. Chambersticks were often equipped with a conical extinguisher and a scissors-like snuffer.
Link to share this object record: https://museums.fivecolleges.edu/detail.php?t=objects&type=ext&id_number=HD+1721 |