18th or 19th C. Two Pair of Wrought Iron Candle Holders

18th or 19th C. Two Pair of Wrought Iron Candle Holders

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Directory: Antiques:Furnishings:Lighting:Tabletop:Candlesticks: Pre 1837 VR: Item # 731003

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Lifestyle Antiques
2264 Lillie Avenue
Santa Barbara, CA 93067
805-969-5474

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$1,400 for tall pair, $475 for shorter pair

18th or 19th C. Two Pair of Wrought Iron Candle Holders

Exceptional Two Pair of Wrought Iron Candle Holders, one of the pair is a circular chamber stick with a looped base, H:10" The second pair has two spikes mounted candle sticks with hanging hooks, one with spiral decoration 11", and one plain 9 7/8", both are probably fron 18th Century to 19th Century. Ironwork is any weapon, artwork, utensil or architectural feature made of iron especially used for decoration. There are two main types of ironwork wrought iron and cast iron. Wrought iron candlesticks were first being made around the year 1,000 B.C., when the Bronze Age gave way to the Iron Age. Artisans across Western civilization employed primitive smelting techniques to convert such natural iron ores, ingots, and nuggets into usable building material. Wrought iron differs from so-called cast-iron, and it is malleable, durable, and more delicate. During the Iron Age craftsmen created a few wrought iron candlesticks, but most of these pieces are now lost to time. It was in the Middle Ages, influenced by works of the British ironwork masters and the advent of the French Baroque movement, wrought iron became in vogue throughout Europe. Cathedrals, such as France's famous Notre Dame, employed wrought iron for ornamental purposes. Candle-smiths developed techniques to purify wrought iron in the 1700s. Iron makers throughout Europe used a technique called bloomery, in which carboniferous charcoal gets smelted with iron ore. The wrought iron candlesticks created by this bloomery process contains very little carbon--approximately 0.04 percent. Thus, the iron end product is extremely malleable and easy to work with. The process in 1854, by the Bessemer Converter had changed history by facilitating steel smelting on a mass scale. With the rise of steel came the fall of wrought iron and cast-iron. Production of European fine wrought iron candlesticks and candelabras virtually stopped. However, these early Candle Holders are very much in demand and in vogue for any decor.