CANDLESTICKS

This pair of columnar silver-plated copper alloy candlesticks with engraved and etched colorless glass shades were a recent acquisition to the Winterthur Museum, Garden & Library from the estate of Mrs. George P. Bissell in memory of Ruth du Pont Lord, the last surviving family member of Henry Francis du Pont before passing away in 2014. They were produced by John Sherwood and Son, manufacturers of silver and electroplate goods active in Birmingham, UK starting around 1839. The exterior of the foot is stamped with a series of three marks: "JS/&S" in a shield, a beaver facing viewer's left inside a rectangle with cut corners, and a crown inside a rounded square. 

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These candlesticks are an early example of electroplating, a technique first patented in 1840. These candlesticks are composed of two distinct layers: a thin deposition layer of silver and a copper alloy base metal composed of copper, zinc, and nickel. The candlesticks were assembled from at least eight component parts and joined using heat and solder. The glass shades were handblown and later etched and engraved. The candlesticks and glass shades are likely not original to each other, but rather married from two distinct sets, evidenced by the positioning of the 11 pierced arches in the wide cup of the candlestick. XRF analysis completed by Winterthur scientist Rosie Grayburn determined the composition of the base metal at the shaft and base to be an alloy of copper, zinc, and nickel in an approximate 2:1:1 ratio.