Late Gothic Brass Pricket Candlestick

A large late Gothic brass pricket candlestick, standing 19 ½ inches high, with a boldly tiered circular base rising to a knopped and multi-moulded stem, surmounted by a broad drip pan and central pricket for securing a tall taper. The substantial weight and vertical proportions mark this as a candlestick intended for ecclesiastical use, where such objects were positioned on altars or within side chapels.
Nuremberg was the foremost centre for brass- and bronze-founders in late medieval Europe, exporting candlesticks, alms dishes, and liturgical fittings across the continent. Candlesticks of this scale, produced in specialist foundries under the guild system, reflect the technical mastery and commercial reach of the Nuremberg workshops in the first half of the sixteenth century. Their survival in such well-preserved condition is relatively rare, as many were melted down or re-cast in later centuries.