Aesthetic Movement Pair of Bronze Candlesticks in Manner of Tiffany, ca. 1880s

DETAILS Marked on bottom. WMF GmbH In 1853, mill owner Daniel Straub, together with the Schweizer brothers, Louis and Friedrich, established the Straub & Schweizer metal works in Geislingen an der Steige, Germany. Only a few years later in 1862, their silver-plated tableware and serving dishes were awarded a medal of distinction at the world exhibition in London. The company, originally called Metallwarenfabrik Straub & Schweizer, merged in 1880 with Ritter & Co - a producer of high end luxury items who were ahead of their time in silver plating technique. Instead of using the method of heat and mechanical pressure to plate their wares, Ritter dipped the item into a bath of silver which together with an electric current produced pieces that were finely and evenly covered in a layer of silver. This method of plating was called ‘Galvanisation’ and allowed more intricate and complex pieces to be plated. After several years both companies still faced financial problems and in 1880 they joined with the Wurttemberg Union Bank and the company was renamed “WMF” (Württembergische Metallwarenfabrik). From its founding as one company, WMF's growth was tremendous - acquiring more factories along the way, notably including "Orivit AG" and "Orion KM". By the end of the 1900's, they were the world's largest producer and exporter of household metalware. WMF started making glass in 1883 when a glass house was built at Geisslingen near Stuttgart to produce their own glass inserts. The original 1883 glass house was destroyed during the First World War and a new, more modern facility opened in 1922. The young glass designer Karl Wiedmann perfected the technique of iridized surfaces and the resulting "MYRA"- Kristall entered production in 1926. The same year also saw the beginning of the first "IKORA" glass - reputedly discovered by accident whilst correcting a Myra glass...

This most unusual pair of original 18th century Japanese patinated bronze candelabras, uniquely designed as branches of mountain flowers entangled by a dragon, are mounted on the con...

Bronze, dark-brown patina, unmarked. Measures: Height: 23” Width: 14” The notion of an “American Rococo” seems a contradiction in terms. The very word rococo is as French as Camembert. It connotes a style that reigned along with Louis XV in the aristocratic decadence of the 18th Century. It was garlanded, nonchalant, associated with erotic marshmallow nudes by Francois Boucher and foppish courtiers costumed as shepherds pretending they understood Jean-Jacques Rousseau when all they really wanted was romantic dalliance in the formal gardens of Versailles. In the history of painting it produced but one great artist, Antoine Watteau. By contrast, Americans of the period are remembered as the flinty inheritors of New England Puritans, full of rectitude and having not a moment for furbelow or frippery. Such few painters as were around included hard-nosed realists like John Singleton Copley and Charles Willson Peale. Well, as it turns out, life once again acts according to the principle of paradox. There was an American rococo. It came to us indirectly via England disguised under the name Chippendale. Now for the first time the style receives comprehensive survey in the exhibition “American Rococo, 1750-1775: Elegance in Ornament.” Jointly organized by New York’s Metropolitan Museum and the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, it opens here Sundaywith a spread of some 170 works of decorative art and a conscientious catalogue with essays by Met and LACMA curators Morrison H. Heckscher and Leslie Greene Bowman. There are at least two ways of looking at the decorative arts. Connoisseurs appreciate their design and craftsmanship. Those of sociological bent examine objects of material culture for their revelations of history and the temper of the times. Actually neither view is complete without the other. Stylistically the rococo reveals a longing for intimacy in its small scale and an urge to organic nature in its love of stylized vines, tendrils, tiny flowers and seashells. If it were a new manner being promoted by Madison Avenue today it would probably be called “Baroque Lite.” There is an ease about the style that makes it airy, but it has an underlying formality that bespeaks lives of gentrified cultivation rather than beer-bellied sloth. It’s fascinating to examine the flintlock firearms on view and find these weapons of death shaped and decorated with the most exquisite care by wood carvers and metal engravers. All of this is completely consistent with the main currents of 18th-Century European thought. In France, Rousseau sang the virtues of nature and the noble savage like a present-day ecologist. In England, John Locke...

Attributed to Alfredo Castellani Paperknife Patinated Bronze & Marble Italy, ca. 1880s ABOUT These Castellani paper cutters, paperknives or lette...

A duo of anodized brass candlesticks, each featuring a round base, stem and a lotus flower that contains a regular size candle. Manufactured in the USA during the 1960s. The cand...

ABOUT IRIS MOTIFS Iris motifs were popular during the Arts & Crafts movement. The genus of this easy-to-stylize flower has nearly 300 varieties that bloom in many colors—thus its nam...

Very rare set of two silver-plated candlesticks, Germany, 1880s. They have a very nice patina. A decorative addition to any room.

Aesthetic Bronze Dog Candlesticks

French handcrafted gold color candle holders in gilt bronze with high-quality decoration, each with a Baroque Revival bronze base elegantly decorated with open fretwork and fitted wi...

Pair Estate English Aesthetic Movement Silver-Plated Candlesticks, Circa 1950-1960.

A very stylish pair Townsend & Co Aesthetic Movement candlesticks with mock bamboo supports dating from circa 1890. The candlesticks are finely made with rounded stepped domed heavy ...

WMF. An Aesthetic Movement Copper Chamber Candlestick and match book holder in the Dr C Dresser Style.