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Decorative arts

Three-light Candelabrum

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Type
Decorative arts(Opens in new tab)
Date
ca. 1750
Accession number
27.116
Maker
Meissen Porcelain Manufactory(Opens in new tab) (German, born 1710)
Mount maker
Unknown, French(Opens in new tab) (French)
Dimensions
22 x 19 x 13 1/2 in. (55.9 x 48.3 x 34.3 cm.)
Medium
gilt bronze, porcelain
Description
This candelabrum, one of a pair, is in the shape of a polychrome bird, which is mounted with gilt bronze candleholders.
Credit
The Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens. The Arabella D. Huntington Memorial Art Collection.
Department
European Art
Find out more
View in the Art Museum catalog(Opens in new tab)
The Meissen Porcelain Manufactory in Saxony (modern-day Germany) specialized in figures of birds and animals, such as these bitterns, which are wading birds in the heron family. Collectors valued these objects both for their realistic representation of nature and for the fact that they are made of porcelain, a luxury item in Europe at this time. Fanciful gilt-bronze mounts were added to these porcelain sculptures after they were imported into France, transforming them into elaborate candelabra.

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