Images(3)

Centerpiece candelabrum

John Flaxman (English, 1755–1826)

William Theed (English, 1764–1817)

Paul Storr (English, 1771–1844)

Philip Rundell (1743–1827)

Rundell, Bridge & Rundell (English, 1797–1843)

1816 (centerpiece); 1819 (branches)

Medium/TechniqueSilver gilt

DimensionsOverall: 102.9 × 55.9 × 55.9 cm (40 1/2 × 22 × 22 in.)

Credit LineMuseum purchase with funds donated anonymously in honor of Thomas S. Michie

Accession number2018.2108

On View

On view

ClassificationsSilver

Collections

Europe

Description

The design for this monumental candelabrum was commissioned by the Prince of Wales (later George IV) from John Flaxman (1755–1826), the leading British sculptor of his day. The shaft features Mercury, swooping down to deliver the infant Bacchus, Roman god of wine, to the nymphs who raised him, while lions guard the base. The artist, modeler, silversmiths, and gilders all worked under the direction of the royal goldsmiths Rundell, Bridge & Rundell. This candelabrum was originally part of a dinner service commissioned by Sir Richard Sutton for his country house, Norwood Park. Other works by Flaxman and Rundell are upstairs in Gallery 241.

InscriptionsRUNDELL BRIDGE ET RUNDELL AURIFICES REGIS ET PRINCIPIS WALLIAE REGENTIS BRITANNIAS.ProvenanceAbout 1819, Sir Richard Sutton, 2nd Bt. (b. 1798 – d. 1855), Norwood Park (original commission) [see note]; by descent through the family to his great-grandson, Sir Richard Vincent Sutton, 6th Bt. (b. 1891- d. 1918), Norwood Park; 1918, to the Trustees of Richard Vincent Sutton; March 31, 1976, Trustees of R. V. Sutton and others sale, Christie’s, London, lot 130. 2007, European private collector; October 26, 2007, anonymous (“European private collector”) sale, Christie’s, New York, lot 138, to an American private collector; October 21, 2011, anonymous (“West Coast Collector”) sale, Christie’s, New York, lot 173, unsold; 2018, consigned by this collector to S. J. Shrubsole, Inc., New York; 2018, sold by Shrubsole to the MFA. (Accession Date: September 26, 2018)

NOTE: Almost certainly supplied by Rundell Bridge and Rundell to Richard Sutton on the occasion of his marriage in 1819, along with a silver dinner service and four candelabra.