Description
A very stylish pair of silver five-light, square base candelabras with elegantly spread branches. The bases and the capitals of the candelabra have urn and floral decoration and the base boasts a gadrooned border. The columns of the candelabra have spiralling floral decoration. The five branches on each candelabra are ornate and the central column is decorated with foliage. The nozzles and the drip pans have gadroon borders. A stunningly beautifully crafted pair of candelabras.
Maker: Mappin & Webb
Height: 21.25 inches (55cm)
Condition: Very good and beautifully hallmarked throughout
Price: £15,000
Mappin & Webb traces its origins to 1775, when Jonathan Mappin opened a silver workshop in Sheffield, then as now a major centre of the English silver trade. The business eventually became Mappin Brothers.[1]
One of Jonathan Mappin’s great grandsons, John Mappin, started his own business in London, Mappin & Company, in 1860, which became Mappin, Webb & Co. in 1862 after John Mappin was joined by his brother-in-law George Webb. The first Mappin & Webb store opened in 1860 at 77-78 Oxford Street, London and the company’s candelabras, fine silverware and vanity products swiftly gained renown. As a natural progression from silverware, Mappin & Webb began designing jewellery. Mappin, Webb & Co. acquired Mappin Brothers in 1903.
Mappin & Webb expanded internationally beginning in the 1890s. Its first overseas store was established in Johannesburg and stores soon followed in Buenos Aires, Sao Paulo, Biarritz, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Cairo and Bombay. However all international stores closed in the second half of the 20th century.[2]
