Getty Museum

Pair of Candlesticks

Date

about 1680–1690

Medium

Gilt bronze

Culture

French

Department

Decorative Arts

Institution

Getty Museum

In his book *Directions to Servants,*written in 1745, Jonathan Swift advised, *Avoid burning daylight, and to save your master's candles never bring them up till half an hour after it be dark, although they are called for ever so often. . . . There is nothing wherin the skill of a butler more appears than in the management of candles.* Candles, along with firelight, were the only sources of illumination after dark in the 1700s. Candlesticks made from bronze, silver, pewter, or wood, with one or two branches, were the most popular mobile light source, whether plain or decorated. These candlesticks are embossed and chased, with figures playing musical instruments and cupids that frolic among bands of strapwork along the base.

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