Description:
One of four neoclassical-style, press molded creamware candlesticks with the nozzle and drip pan molded with acanthus; over a fluted neck and vase-shaped stem with two scroll handles terminating with mask terminals suspending husk swags; spreading quatrefoil foot molded with acanthus; and a gadrooned rim edge around the scalloped-edged base. In the late 18th century, classical shapes and ornaments replaced the richly carved or asymmetrical designs featured in the earlier Rococo or Chippendale style. Objects excavated at the Roman archaeological sites at Pompeii and Herculaneum in the mid-18th century served as inspiration for new furniture forms and household decoration in this country and Europe. Enoch Booth (c.1703-1773) of Tunstall, England, developed the fine, light-colored earthenware now known as creamware in the early 1740s using the various improvements in body, glaze, and firing; but it was Josiah Wedgwood (1730-1795) who perfected and successfully marketed the ceramic body. Wedgwood’s version of creamware resulted from many experiments with white clays and improved glazes; by 1762, he had developed a light, sturdy, refined, and yet inexpensive cream-colored earthenware body. Wedgwood described the new product as "a species of earthenware for the table, quite new in appearance, covered with rich and brilliant glaze, bearing sudden alterations of heat and cold, manufactured with ease and expedition, and consequently cheap." Middle-class consumers rushed to purchase creamware, bringing the popularity of alternative ceramics such as tin-glazed earthenware and salt-glazed stoneware to an end. In an effort to capture a segment of the creamware market, many English potteries also began to produce the ceramic; estimates suggest that more than 150 factories in England manufactured the ware. Unfortunately most early wares were not marked, making attribution to a particular factory difficult. While unmarked, this candlestick bears a strong resemblance to one illustrated in James and Charles Whitehead’s 1798 pattern book. According to Donald Towner, there are very few distinctive patterns in this pattern book and that many of the engravings seem to be derived from Wedgwood, Leeds, and Castleford pattern books although this form is not found in those pattern books. Condition: Some restoration to nozzles. Condition: Some restoration to nozzles.
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https://museums.fivecolleges.edu/detail.php?t=objects&type=ext&id_number=HD+2006.33.93.2 |
