Oliver Cornish
Sale Coordinator for Furniture, Sculpture, Rugs & Tapestries
Lot 53
A pair of George III gilt and patinated bronze and white marble griffin candlesticks In the Neoclassical style after designs by Sir William Chambers (Anglo-Swedish, 1726-1796), circa 1800
3 December 2025, 13:00 GMT
London, New Bond Street£1,500 - £2,000
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Helena Gumley
Head of Sale Carpets and Tapestries
A pair of George III gilt and patinated bronze and white marble griffin candlesticks
In the Neoclassical style after designs by Sir William Chambers (Anglo-Swedish, 1726-1796), circa 1800
The vase nozzles cast with continuous anthemion borders below foliate collars, each supported by a seated winged mythical beast with elaborate multi-scrolling acanthus leaf tail, on narrow rectangular stepped plinth bases with beaded stiff leave borders, 22.5cm high, 10cm wide, 5.5cm deep
The vase nozzles cast with continuous anthemion borders below foliate collars, each supported by a seated winged mythical beast with elaborate multi-scrolling acanthus leaf tail, on narrow rectangular stepped plinth bases with beaded stiff leave borders, 22.5cm high, 10cm wide, 5.5cm deep
Footnotes
Sir William Chambers (1726–1796) was court architect to George III and one of the leading figures of British neoclassicism. He worked not only as an architect but also as a designer of furniture and decorative objects. The griffin candlestick design often associated with him was published in the third edition of "A Treatise on the Decorative Part of Civil Architecture" in 1791, where he illustrated a range of ornamental utensils created for patrons such as the Earl of Charlemont and Lord Melbourne.
Produced in England and Europe in gilt bronze, silver and basalt porcelain and in Indian in ivory, early examples have been attributed to the London bronzier Diederich Nicolaus Anderson, whose high quality work was favoured by the aristocracy. Chambers also collaborated with the industrialist Matthew Boulton, who produced metal versions of the griffin candlesticks and related objects in Birmingham. Surviving correspondence from the 1770s shows Chambers sending Boulton models and requesting their return, confirming their professional exchange.