Netherlandish Gothic Brass Pricket Candlestick

A small Gothic brass or latten pricket candlestick, of Southern Netherlandish manufacture and dating to the middle of the 15th century.

Cast in brass, the candlestick is formed with a broad circular dished grease-pan above an elegantly moulded baluster stem, articulated by a succession of collars and a prominent central knop, descending to a strongly spreading bell-shaped base.

The pronounced architectural character of the stem and substantial bell-shaped base belong to the established tradition of 15th-century Netherlandish brass candlesticks. The particularly diminutive proportions of the present example are unusual, although closely paralleled amongst surviving medieval Netherlandish pricket candlesticks.

The surface has developed a particularly attractive deep brown patination, with areas of warm golden brass visible through historic wear. The comparatively rough casting retained beneath the base provides an interesting contrast with the carefully finished exterior surfaces and is characteristic of the practical methods employed in medieval brass production.

Originally raised upon three small feet, traces of their former positions remain visible beneath the base. As is frequently encountered with medieval candlesticks of this type, these projecting elements have been lost through the object’s long history. The pricket has been sympathetically reinstated at a later date. Neither alteration detracts from the remarkably complete survival of the principal medieval casting or from the clarity of its original Gothic profile.

An appealing and particularly diminutive survival of mid-15th-century Southern Netherlandish metalwork, retaining considerable character and a fine historic surface.