Item #: 12-630-0

WOW Vintage 4-Arm French Renaissance Pewter Candelabra

Comment:

Wow! This is an outstanding vintage pewter Candelabra! An elaborate design and heavy weight make this the piece for which you've been searching!

Object: Candelabra

Origin: France

Dimensions (inches:)

15.50H x 15W x 15D

Date: 1950

Condition:

VERY GOOD



In overall very good condition. Antique and vintage items by their very nature show normal wear to finish and miscellaneous scratches, nicks, and dings due to age and use. As we define 'very good condition' relative to the stated age of the piece, we would expect to see 'character marks' consistent with that age and could include minor nicks or dings to a wooden, metal, enamel or chalkware object, minor wear to a painted surface, minor speckling on a mirror, light crazing, wear to gilding, or small manufacturing glaze skips in ceramic finish, or slight wear to a label. If ceramic/porcelain restoration has been done, it is of museum-quality so that it is hardly discernible and would be specifically mentioned in the listing. 'Very good condition' would not include chips or cracks in any glass or ceramic item, but could include very minor fleabite chips to the edges of a marble item.



Material:

PEWTER



Pewter is a metal alloy, traditionally between 85 and 99% tin, with the remainder consisting of copper, antimony, and lead, and has traditionally been used to make tableware and decorative items. Pewter is highly ductile, meaning that it can easily be worked, embossed, or carved, and has been in use since at least Roman times. Pewter starts out glossy and bright and over time the metal oxidizes, acquiring a nice grayish patina.



The tradition of marking high quality pewter began in the 14th century and continues today. Typical quality marks include the rose stamp, the crown stamp, and the angel stamp featuring the Arc Angel Michael with a balance and sword.



Style:



RENAISSANCE REVIVAL: HENRY II AND HUNTING STYLES



As the middle class rose in status and wealth with the advent of the Industrial Revolution in the 19th century, more people were able to afford furniture. This flattening of society in combination with technological advancements created a surge of furniture production. Improved transportation meant a greater variety of wood was available at lower costs. For the first time, furniture became accessible and affordable to the common man. From the 1830s to the end of the 19th century, furniture makers reached back to earlier historical styles, and reinterpreted them with a great deal of creativity and experimentation. Although machines were used to increase speed and productivity, most of the carvings were still done by hand. Consumers were hungry for large, ornate and heavily carved furniture that would impress their friends and family and show off their newly found wealth. The Renaissance Revival style is marked by massive proportions and heavy, ornate carvings. Most furniture was produced in dark oak and walnut. There are actually several sub-styles that fall under the broader Renaissance Revival style and include the Henry II (Henri II) style, Hunting style, Mechelen style, and Louis XIII style.



In France, the Renaissance style is often referred to as Henry II (Henri II) style, based on the reign of Henry II (1547 – 1559), although it is surprising that the style was not named for his father, Francis I. Considered to be the great French Renaissance monarch, Francis I (1515 – 1547), a contemporary of Henry VIII in England, was a great supporter of the Arts and the Humanities. Enamored with Italian Renaissance art and architecture, he convinced Leonardo da Vinci and other great Italian artists to move to France and work at his court, decorating his many palaces and chateaux (palaces out in the country rather than in Paris) in the lush Loire Valley. He actively collected artistic works by Raphael, Michelangelo, and Titian, which were the beginning of the magnificent art collection of the French kings on display today in the Louvre in Paris. Decorative hallmarks of the Henry II style include arches, pediments, columns, finials, carved flowers, fruit, scrolls and often references to Greek and Roman mythology, including male and female heads, faces or figures.



The Hunting style developed as an exotic way to decorate the royal and aristocratic hunting lodges (the chateaux of the Loire Valley). Furniture makers specialized in detailed carvings of winged griffins, lion’s heads, and trophies of the hunt, including deer, fish, eels, rabbits, birds, and dogs. Lush foliage in the form of leaves and berries were often carved along edges of buffets and on the backs of chairs, while the bases of tables were often carved to represent the beasts of the hunt: dogs, boars, deer, and foxes. 19th century consumers of the Renaissance Revival style were crazy for the massive, heavily carved and ornate Hunting style and many pieces also included intricate stained glass doors in the upper cabinets.



Shipping:

This item will be shipped within the Contiguous 48 United States via USPS Parcel Post. Shipments may occasionally be upgraded to UPS or FedEx Ground service. All shipments include insurance.

Additional Information:

Because EuroLuxAntiques maintains its own website and lists on other online sites, while also operating a physical store location in Newberry, South Carolina, we reserve the right to end any listing early if it has not been purchased outright or no bids have been placed upon the item. On occasion, a piece listed on a website may no longer be available. We do our best to maintain the accuracy of our inventory records but we often have customers interested in the same item at the same time. In those cases, we defer to the customer who placed the earlier order. We apologize in advance by any inconvenience this may cause. Because of this, we encourage all of our buyers to purchase the item as quickly as possible so that your treasured find doesn't sell elsewhere to someone else. Happy browsing and thanks! Aimee & Greg Talbot at EuroLuxAntiques.



Additional Pictures:

In many cases, EuroLux Antiques has many more pictures of our items than this website allows us to place in our descriptions. If you are interested in seeing these additional pictures, please email or call us and we would be happy to send the pictures to you if they are available.