Black Round Metal Spike Candle Holder Pillar Candle Plate

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There are also some less complex examples of adjustable candle-holders, such as the two below, one of which is still movable. The hinge must have been quite tight to stop the candle-holder collapsing while in use. Bangs suggests that the trefoil type of ejector dates from the second half of the 17th century onwards ( Bangs 1995, 145-146, 326; no. 121) but they seem to have become more common in the 18th century. Ejector handles from late 17th- or 18th-century candle-holders, all of openwork trefoil type except for one. From left: DOR-F8C076, NLM-074D4A, BH-C623B4, SUSS-AA9D95, WMID-6FAB26. Toy candle-holders

Adjustable candle-holders are flimsy and small, and are made from several pieces. When recording one, put ‘adjustable’ in the Classification field. A ceramic version of the 1770s in the British Museum provides dating evidence ( 1921,1215.139.CR). Three loops from saucer-type candle-holders, with breaks where they were joined to the saucer marked. From left: HAMP-0AA051, LVPL-600557, SWYOR-B13D83. Ejectors One was found in a 16th-century context in London ( Egan 2005, 81, no. 337) and another in a pit with early 16th century pottery in Winchester ( Rees et al 2008, no. 1799). Two Norwich finds came from the levels of the 1507 fire ( Margeson 1993, 83-4, nos. 537-8), so a date-range of 1450-1550 seems appropriate. Candle-holders of Bunsen burner type. From left: SOM-619B4B, DEV-AF2114, SWYOR-EC45A9, SF-3DBCE5, LVPL-417C75 (cast in one piece). 16th- or 17th-century candle-holdersWhen Alfred and his father Æthelwulf travelled to Rome in the 850s, among their gifts to the Pope was “a gilded silver candle-holder in the Saxon style”. So early-medieval candle-holders did apparently exist, but we don’t have any yet recorded on the PAS database. Perhaps they were all as large as this one in Essen Cathedral, made c. 1000 AD. Medieval candle-holders Some ejector handles can be oval, sometimes inscribed with initials. Others are simple knobs, which can be hard to recognise. The most recognisable ones, and the commonest on the PAS database, have an openwork trefoil of three circular loops.

Roger Brownsword, a metallurgist with an interest in candle-holders, was of the opinion that most cast copper-alloy candle-holders of 14th-century or earlier date were made on the Continent and imported into England ( Brownsword 1985, 1) which might explain their rarity. Further research is needed to confirm this hypothesis.

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A second, very distinctive type of tripod folding candle-holder was made in Limoges. They have three separately made curved legs, with loops at one end which are threaded onto the bottom of the candle-holder’s shaft. These were either spread out to support the candle-holder while standing, or swung round to make a more compact shape for travelling or storage. The legs are decorated with enamelled pseudo-heraldic devices, and several have been recorded on the PAS database; see SF-417281 for a list. Put ‘Limoges style’ in the Classification field.