unknown - Design for a Candelabrum. - ca. 1855 v2 - T-Shirt

This is a study for a mid-nineteenth-century candelabrum, drawn upright on a cream sheet in watercolour and gouache.

Visual Elements & Composition

Cobalt blue dominates the drawing. The baluster vase is glazed in a rich ultramarine, and it is framed by gilt collars, scrolled handles that rise from the shoulders in swan-like curves, and a tripod foot with scrolled legs. Gilt flowers with cup-shaped blooms branch upward to form the arms of the lights, so the ornament reads as a balanced, symmetrical outline against the open cream ground. Set into the front of the vase is an oval reserve painted with a standing man and a seated woman in soft washes of pink and grey. Small numerals, 106 and N° 50, and a caption line along the lower margin mark it as a working design sheet.

Meaning & Symbolism

The combination of blue ground and gold mounts was widely used in the decorative bronze and porcelain of the 1850s, and the piece follows that taste for ornament and display. The painted couple recalls the gallant scenes of the eighteenth century, which revival designers quoted to give furnishings an air of refinement. Drawings like this one let a maker and a patron settle form, proportion and mounts before production began, and this second version shows the complete object against an open ground.

Designed to Be Seen Head-On

A candelabrum is built on a vertical axis, and this design is made to be read the same way. The tall, centred form of the vase and its branching arms runs straight down the chest of the tee, while the blue and gold stand out clearly from a distance. The oval vignette sits at eye level, so the courting pair is the first thing a viewer notices when the shirt is seen across a room.