{"product_id":"pair-of-ivory-and-gilt-ceramic-double-candle-holders-mirrored-s-scroll-form-with-twin-sockets-c-1945-1965","title":"Pair of Ivory and Gilt Ceramic Double Candle Holders, Mirrored S-Scroll Form with Twin Sockets, c. 1945–1965","description":"  \u003ch3\u003eThe Piece\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eA pair of low candle holders, each built as a single sweeping \u003cstrong\u003eS-scroll\u003c\/strong\u003e rising from an oval stepped base and rolling over into a tight volute at the top.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eEach one holds \u003cstrong\u003etwo candles, not one\u003c\/strong\u003e. A socket sits at the crest of the scroll, and a second sits lower and forward, cradled in the curl where the scroll turns back on itself — so a single holder puts two flames at two different heights.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe glaze is a warm \u003cstrong\u003eivory with a blush cast\u003c\/strong\u003e, high gloss and very even.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe gilding follows the form rather than covering it: a double band around the oval base, a fine line tracing the whole outer edge of the scroll, a broad gold wash on the back flare, and a heavy ring around each socket.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eThey are a true mirror pair\u003c\/strong\u003e — one scrolls left, the other right — which means two moulds, not one shape made twice. The bases are fully faced in brown felt.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eHistory \u0026amp; Provenance\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eThe mirroring is the first thing worth noticing.\u003c\/strong\u003e Anyone can sell two of the same candlestick. A handed pair, made left and right so they face each other across a mantel or a table, required the maker to cut and maintain two separate moulds for one product. It is a deliberate extra cost, it is why the pair reads as designed rather than assembled, and it is the reason a matched pair like this is worth more than two singles.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eThe gold is applied by hand and it shows.\u003c\/strong\u003e Look along the line running the edge of the scroll: it thickens and thins slightly, it follows the curve by eye, and it stops where the brush stopped. A printed or transferred gold is uniform. This was painted on and fired, which is also why it wears where fingers go — the socket rims have rubbed toward bronze while the protected areas stayed bright.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eThe form is Rococo borrowed, and knowingly.\u003c\/strong\u003e A scrolling C- or S-curve with volute terminals is eighteenth-century French ornamental vocabulary, and it came back into fashion repeatedly. On ivory-and-gold ceramic at this scale it belongs to the mid-twentieth-century decorative trade, when scroll-and-gilt giftware sold in enormous quantity for mantels, sideboards and dressing tables.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eThere is a specific reason no maker is named here.\u003c\/strong\u003e The base of each holder is \u003cstrong\u003ecompletely covered in brown felt\u003c\/strong\u003e, applied to protect furniture, and any backstamp, impressed mark or paper label is underneath it. The felt has not been lifted or removed. The pair is therefore offered \u003cstrong\u003eunattributed\u003c\/strong\u003e, on the understanding that a mark may well survive beneath.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eDated on the slip-cast construction, the hand-applied fired gilding and the state of the glaze and the wear: \u003cstrong\u003ec. 1945–1965\u003c\/strong\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eProduct Details\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003ctable border=\"1\" cellpadding=\"8\" cellspacing=\"0\" style=\"width:100%; border-collapse:collapse;\"\u003e\n  \u003cthead\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003cth align=\"left\" style=\"text-align:left; vertical-align:top;\"\u003eField\u003c\/th\u003e\n\u003cth align=\"left\" style=\"text-align:left; vertical-align:top;\"\u003eDetail\u003c\/th\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\u003c\/thead\u003e\n  \u003ctbody\u003e\n    \u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd style=\"vertical-align:top;\"\u003eObject\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd style=\"vertical-align:top;\"\u003eMatched pair of double candle holders — two sockets on each, four candles in total\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n    \u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd style=\"vertical-align:top;\"\u003eForm\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd style=\"vertical-align:top;\"\u003eMirrored S-scroll with rolled volute terminals rising from an oval stepped base; upper socket at the crest, lower socket set forward in the curl\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n    \u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd style=\"vertical-align:top;\"\u003eDecoration\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd style=\"vertical-align:top;\"\u003eIvory glaze with a blush cast under a high gloss, with hand-applied fired gilding — a double band to the base, a line following the scroll edge, a broad wash to the back flare and a ring to each socket\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n    \u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd style=\"vertical-align:top;\"\u003eMaterial\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd style=\"vertical-align:top;\"\u003eSlip-cast glazed ceramic with gilt decoration\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n    \u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd style=\"vertical-align:top;\"\u003eMarks\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd style=\"vertical-align:top;\"\u003eNone visible. Both bases are fully faced in brown protective felt, which covers any backstamp or label; the felt has been left in place. Offered unattributed.\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n    \u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd style=\"vertical-align:top;\"\u003eEra\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd style=\"vertical-align:top;\"\u003ec. 1945–1965. Dated on the slip-cast construction, the hand-applied fired gilding and the condition of the glaze; the Rococo scroll form is far older and carries no date of its own.\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n    \u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd style=\"vertical-align:top;\"\u003eCondition\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd style=\"vertical-align:top;\"\u003eVery good as a usable decorative pair. Both are structurally sound with no chips, no cracks, no crazing, no repairs and no restoration; both stand level, all four sockets are clear and complete, and the glaze is bright and unmarked. \u003cstrong\u003eExpect the gilding to show genuine wear\u003c\/strong\u003e — the socket rims have rubbed from bright gold toward a soft bronze on both holders, more so on one than the other, with light thinning along the scroll edges where they were handled. The felt facings are intact but show age and soiling. Condition Guaranteed.\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n    \u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd style=\"vertical-align:top;\"\u003eAvailability\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd style=\"vertical-align:top;\"\u003eOne of a Kind — 1 Available\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n  \u003c\/tbody\u003e\n\u003c\/table\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eWhy It Belongs in Your Home\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eTwo candle holders that each take two candles do something a plain pair cannot: they put four flames at four different heights from two objects.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThat is the whole trick of good candlelight. Flames all at one level read flat; staggered, they give a room depth. Set the pair facing each other on a mantel, at either end of a sideboard, or flanking a mirror, and the mirroring means they frame whatever sits between them instead of just repeating.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThey are also low, which makes them usable on a dining table. Nobody has to look around them, and four small flames down the middle of a table light faces properly.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIvory and gold is one of the safest palettes there is. It sits on dark wood, painted furniture, marble and glass; it works at Christmas and at Easter and at a Tuesday dinner; and it goes with brass, with silver, and with plain white china.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eA note on care, and with gilded ceramic there are two things that destroy the gold. \u003cstrong\u003eNever put these in a dishwasher and never put them in a microwave.\u003c\/strong\u003e Detergent strips fired gilding within a few cycles and it does not come back; gold in a microwave arcs.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eDo not dig wax out of the sockets with anything metal.\u003c\/strong\u003e Put the holder in the freezer for half an hour and the wax shrinks and lifts out whole — a knife or a screwdriver will take the gold ring off the socket rim with it, and that ring is the most worn part already.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWash by hand in warm water with a little mild soap, and dry with a soft cloth. Use no abrasive pad, no scouring cream, no bleach and no descaling or citrus cleaner on the gilded areas. Keep the felt bases dry, since felt holds water against a surface and will mark furniture.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eBurn tapers that fit the sockets snugly rather than forcing an oversized candle in, never let one burn down into the socket, and keep them out of a draught so the flame does not lick the gilt.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Viridian Eclection","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":48042206822505,"sku":"VE-0712","price":110.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0651\/0093\/9369\/files\/80F3DDC7-35AB-4500-AE27-C76A4264F005.jpg?v=1789150288","url":"https:\/\/viridianeclection.com\/products\/pair-of-ivory-and-gilt-ceramic-double-candle-holders-mirrored-s-scroll-form-with-twin-sockets-c-1945-1965","provider":"Viridian Eclection","version":"1.0","type":"link"}