A PAIR OF GEORGE III GILT-BRONZE MOUNTED BLUE JOHN TWIN-LIGHT CANDELABRA, CIRCA 1775, ATTRIBUTED TO MATTHEW BOULTON |

with later elements and alterations

Highly decorative, in restored condition and ready to place. Candle branches and body possibly associated but of the same date. Candle branch section doesn't sit flush and therefore the upper rim of the blue john body is showing some of the unpolished surface. Later elements (bolts and wooden pins) to interior to ensure candle branches and swag mounts are securely fixed in place. Loses to festoons/swags. Corner of bases with repaired breaks which do not detract. Generally with minor old marks and scratches consistent with age and use. Residual wax to candle branches. Please consult department for images of one unassembled.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

COMPARATIVE LITERATURE
Nicholas Goodison, Ormolu: The Work of Matthew Boulton, London, 2002, pp. 278, 305 & 319, fig. 278, 279 & 312.1-2.

Matthew Boulton (1728- 1809) and James Fothergill (d.1782) founded their extraordinary factory in Soho, Staffordshire in 1761. They produced an exemplary body of work illustrative of Boulton’s innovation as an engineer, entrepreneur and the level of patronage that he received. At the cutting edge of artistic endeavour, he was part of a circle which included luminaries such as Josiah Wedgwood, Robert Adam, Sir William Chambers and James Watt, all of whom who had great bearing on his work. The design for the body of these vases, with their distinctive bacchic ram-mask handles, relates to a sketch in Boulton’s Pattern Book I (see Goodison, op. cit., p. 305, fig. 278). The candle-branches are of the type also illustrated in the Pattern Book (no. 125). Both elements feature on numerous examples attributed to the Boulton and Fothergill workshop, underlying the range of choice offered to purchases of their vases (Goodison, op. cit., p. 319, fig. 312.1-2). For a closely related pair of perfume burners see Goodison, op. cit., p. 305, fig. 279.