A Mughal bronze candlestick base, North India, 17th century

the domed body on a low cylindrical base delineated by pronounced flanges, the slender neck broadening to a broad rounded terminal, the body chased with a frieze of symmetrical floral designs within pairs of stylised leafs and separated by a floral medallion, all on a punched ground, the base with a register of trefoil lappets, the neck with petal motifs beneath an openwork band of interlacing floral and leaf pattern, the upper aperture with internal screw thread and incised with a character in devanagari

India: Art and Culture 1300-1900, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 1985, no.135
Glory and Prosperity, Metalwork of the Islamic World, Harvard Art Museums, 2002

Welch 1985, p.206, no.135
Zebrowski 1997, p.113, no.127

surface patination, good condition, as viewed
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Though the decoration is classically Mughal, this is an extremely rare form of candlestick, with a relatively short body. It is not possible to be certain of the complete form, but other candlesticks from India possess a related bell-shaped base and give some idea of how it might have looked and set the piece within a more firmly established tradition (Zebrowski 1997, nos.125, 133 and 134, pp.113 and 116). The elegant floral motifs are typical of Mughal work of the period.