Pair of Italian Baroque Brass Pricket Candlesticks

A pair of tall Baroque brass pricket candlesticks, each with a castellated drip pan above a knopped hexagonal stem, raised on a triform base with bold scrolling feet. One pricket retains its full crown, while the other has a section broken away. The heavy cast construction and monumental form are characteristic of Italian ecclesiastical metalwork of the seventeenth century.
Pricket candlesticks of this scale were designed for use on altars or within side chapels, their tall proportions elevating the flame so as to symbolise the light of Christ in the liturgy. The castellated drip pans provided both a decorative flourish and practical means of securing large candles, while the triform bases echo the architectural vocabulary of the Baroque period, reflecting the dynamism and grandeur of contemporary Italian church design.