Candlestick

This candlestick was made by the silversmith Ebenezer Coker. He was apprenticed to Joseph Smith in 1728. He registered his first maker's mark in 1739 suggesting that he had set up his own business by this date. His workshop was located in Clerkenwell Green. Coker specialised in silver candlesticks, plates and salvers.

The Gothic style or taste was less popular than the neo-classical which was promoted especially by the architect Robert Adam. However, some of Adams's designs were inspired by it. Thomas Chippendale, also, published furniture designs in the Gothic taste in the 1760s. This candlestick, one of a pair, with its quatrefoil design on the base and clustered column, can be placed within the same decorative tradition. Another similar pair of Coker candlesticks is in the Victoria and Albert Museum's collection.