Description

A delightful little antique silver taper stick with shaped base and shell corners. Cast silver.

Weight 147 grams, 4.7 troy ounces.
Height 12.2cm. Base diameter 7.2cm.
London 1748.
Maker William Gould.
Sterling silver.

Marks. The taperstick is marked underneath on 4 corners with a full set of clear and matching English silver hallmarks.

Literature – Silver tapersticks, averaging about 5 inches high, are miniature table candlesticks used to hold a wax taper. Tapersticks would typically be found on a desk as they were not used for lighting; the melted sticks of wax were used for sealing letters, to give a flame for tobacco pipes or to light large candles. They are rarer than candlesticks and very few existed prior to the Queen Anne period. They usually appear in singles and pairs of tapersticks command a premium price.

This lovely taperstick is in very good condition. Excellent patina.

Maker: William Gould

William Gould, apprenticed to his brother James Gould in 1724, entered his first mark as largeworker in 1732. Like his brother's, his mark is found virtually on candlesticks alone. His greatest work bears the mark of William Alexander on the great Knesworth chandelier of the Fishmongers' Company, of 1752. Since Alexander's work is otherwise virtually unknown, it seems certain that he acted as sponsor for the piece and that Gould was the actual craftsman responsible for one of the greatest pieces of rococo silver surviving.

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