Late Gothic Brass Pricket Candlestick

A Late Gothic brass pricket candlestick from the Low Countries, cast in latten and retaining its original candle spike above a broad wax pan. The candlestick stands on a stepped circular foot rising through a baluster-form stem with restrained moulded decoration, a form characteristic of Netherlandish metalwork at the transition from the Gothic to the early Renaissance period.

The underside displays the irregular hollow-cast construction and casting core evidence expected of early brasswork, while the surface shows the rich patina and wear associated with centuries of use. Small devotional and domestic pricket candlesticks of this type are considerably less common than the larger ecclesiastical examples traditionally associated with churches and chapels.