A pair of Victorian parcel-gilt silver four-light "Graeco-Pompeian" candelabra, Elkington & Co., Birmingham, designed by Auguste Adolphe Willms, 1864

the base on three paw feet and with bands of stylized foliage

in good condition
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.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

These candelabra reprise those from Elkington's 'Graeco-Pompeian' dessert service, shown to considerable acclaim at the International Exhibition of 1862. 

Willms trained in Paris with the sculptor Jean-Baptiste-Jules Klagmann, then worked for Morel & Co. in London after 1848, preparing for the the Great Exhibition of 1851. Willms returned to Paris and contributed to the Christofle, Paillard, and Froment-Meurice displays for the Paris Exhibition of 1855. On his now-considerable reputation, Willms was then hired by Elkington & Co., and from 1857 directed the company's designs.

In 1862 the Pompeian service was the most popular of Willms’ designs and contributed heavily to his winning an Exhibition medal.  The jury singled out the firm for "great merit in designing a dessert service... in excellent taste, and the effect is very beautiful" (Reports by the Juries on the Subjects in the Thirty-six Classes Into Which the Exhibition was Divided, London, 1863, Class XXXIII, p. 4).  A plated seven-piece version of the service was sold Sotheby’s, London, “The Great Exhibitions Sale”, October 31, 2006, lot 537, and a silver-plate and enamel version of a figural centerpiece from the service is included in lot 190 of the present sale.