The Collector/Joe Armstrong: A pair of antique candelabras can look exquisite in the diningroom, setting a tone and ambience for a really smart dinner party. Ranging in height from about 16 to 20 inches before candles are added, one should make sure to place them in such a way that they don't get in the way of conversation.
Deriving their name from "tree of candles" or "candle tree", they appear in their first crudest form in the 17th century, essentially as a candlestick with an arm on each side. By the 18th century, they can be found with up to seven arms made of materials such as pewter, silver and, from about 1770 until about 1840, in Sheffield plate. Thereafter, they tend to be mostly electroplate, associated, for instance, with Elkington & Co of Birmingham.
Candelabras can comprise many detachable parts and one should check that each part is contemporary, genuine and bears the same hallmark to guard against "married" pieces. Martin Bernon, fine arts specialist at O'Reilly's auction rooms in Francis Street, Dublin, advises buyers to "make sure hallmarks ring true all the way from top to bottom". While it is not the end of the world if one of the parts is not original, especially if one likes the overall effect and is not perturbed by having a replaced part, it will diminish values for investment purposes.
Sheffield plating, of course, involves a "sandwich" of copper between two plates of silver. With time, a certain amount of "bleeding" can come through, although experts are divided as to the significance of this for values. For Michael Jordan of O'Reilly's, bleeding proves that the piece is original and has not been resilvered. However, Daniel Packer, silver specialist at Sotheby's in London, disagrees. "If you see copper coming through, that's destroying the whole effect of having the silverplated article. The value is in their original condition and the original intention, which was to be silverplated." Packer advises buyers to check that none of the decoration on candelabras is ill defined. Another check is to look for little holes which can wear through at the edges of decoration, revealing the absence of silver underneath.
As to the number of branches, "the more lights they have, the better it is". Another thing to look out for is whether the candelabra is adaptable, such as capable of display with four or seven branches, with flexibility enhancing values. Packer advises that silver candelabra that have been loaded with tar or bitumen for extra solidity will be less valuable than unloaded pieces. On this last point, Michael Jordan disagrees, arguing that age, condition and the maker are more important, with weight in recent years becoming less significant.