24 BULLETIN" 141, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM 



yellow, respectively. No marks are observed on these specimens. 

 (PI. 19, fig. 19, Cat. No. 289427; Anton HeitmuUer; 7.7 inches 

 (19.5 cm.) high.) The Chinese used pewter candlesticks on the altar 

 of ancestor worship, some elaborate and some plain. These are 

 pricket candlesticks. (See p. 20.) (PL 18, fig. 1, Cat. No. 75344; 

 Chinese Centennial Commission, Philadelphia, 1876; 13.3 inches 

 (33.5 cm.) high.) A pair of handsome candlesticks in metal resem- 

 bling pewter, shown on Plate 18, Figure 2, are of English manufac- 

 ture and appear to be Georgian, or after a Georgian model which 

 was probably in silver. (Cat. No. 311678, Elizabeth S. Stevens; 

 7.8 inches (22.5 cm.) high.) 



CANDLESTICKS OF BRASS 



It is really a short time comparatively since the socket candlestick 

 took its place as an important feature of house furnishings. The 

 Romans left candlesticks in the debris of the ancient Roman station 

 of Saalberg, Germany, but it was many centuries before they became 

 usual in Europe. Brass, the useful alloy which was known in India 

 in the third century B. C, became widely disseminated. More lamps, 

 candlesticks, and religious objects were made of brass than of any 

 other metal. It would seem not beside the mark to term the period 

 following the Bronze Age and before the wide distribution of iron 

 the Age of Brass. There is no doubt that brass candlesticks are the 

 oldest form of this lighting device in metal. It is difficult, however, 

 to date the common brass candlestick except special patterns which 

 have arisen generally at a late period in various cultured countries. 

 The roundel sticks seem to go back verj?^ far and are molded from 

 wood turned patterns, which accounts for their resemblance to prod- 

 ucts of the lathe worker's art. Candlesticks of the roundel type, 

 which may be assigned to the American colonial period and subse- 

 quently, have an oblong rectangular or square base with truncated 

 or rounded corners, cut separately and joined to the stem. Plate 19, 

 Figure 16, is a colonial mantel or table candlestick of brass. (Cat. 

 No. 216269, Pennsylvania; Anton HeitmuUer; 8 inches (20.5 cm.) 

 high.) There appears to be no data as to when the manufacture of 

 candlesticks of this type Avas discontinued. It may be hazarded 

 that it was about 1860, near the period when coal oil struck a dis- 

 astrous blow to the candlestick industry. Replicas, however, have 

 been occasionally made to supply a certain demand. The specimen 

 (pi. 16, fig. 2) appears to be in this class. (Cat. No. 311538, United 

 States; Elizabeth S. Stevens; 11.8 inches (30 cm.) high.) Figure 4 

 is a solid brass cast of the turned wood model more slender and grace- 

 ful than those described and tastefully ornamented. (Cat. No. 311,- 

 539, England; Elizabeth S. Stevens; 10.7 inches (27 cm.) high.) 



