1990.164.1-2 Frederick Elkington & Co., Pair of candelabra

Inspired by the construction of the Suez Canal and the erection of an obelisk, Cleopatra's Needle, on the bank of the Victoria Embankment in London, English designers produced a variety of exceptional objects in the Egyptian Revival taste during the 1870s. This pair of candelabra was manufactured by Frederick Elkington & Co, one of the most important exponents of the style. Although the firm usually worked in silver or silverplate, it selected gold for many of its Egyptian Revival designs due to the metal's symbolic connection to ancient Egypt. The candelabra are covered with dense ornament inspired by ancient Egyptian art and architecture. For example, on the bases stand pairs of hawks, which are symbols of Horus, the patron god of Egypt. Pharoah heads, lotuses, and "hieroglyphs," which are invented and incomprehensible, are also incorporated into the design.

I removed a technique ("cast") from the Medium display field in TMS and added it as a Getty Vocabularies term

I edited, updated, or entered the Provenance, Exhibition History, Bibliography, and Published References fields in TMS.

I added the following as a TMS Text Entry: Charles L. Venable, Silver in America, 1840-1940: A Century of Splendor (Dallas, Texas: Dallas Museum of Art; New York, New York; Harry N. Abrams, Inc., 1994), 330.

1990.164.1.A-F Frederick Elkington & Co., Candelabrum (one of pair)

Until 1990: Phyllis Tucker Antiques (Phyllis Tucker), Houston, Texas

From 1990: Dallas Museum of Art, purchased from the above

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