Holt Antiques at East Raynham
An 18th Century Irish Wrought Iron Rushlight and Candleholder on a Crown Base
An 18th Century Irish Wrought Iron Rushlight and Candleholder on a Crown Base
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For most households before the 19th century, the rushlight was the everyday light of the long evening. Wax candles were a luxury, and even tallow had to be used sparingly. Rushes were gathered, peeled to leave a single spine of pith, and drawn through melted fat. The resulting light was held at an angle in an iron nip such as this and moved along as it burned down. It was humble, cheap and remarkably effective.
This example is forged entirely by hand. Its jaws are closed by a counterweight that doubles as a candle socket, so that a rush or a candle could be burned as means and occasion allowed. The stem rises from a crown base, in which arching legs spring from a circular ring foot. That construction is characteristic of Irish vernacular smithing and distinct from the tripods and turned wooden blocks more usual in English and Welsh work. It is a form admired by collectors of early lighting for its structural confidence and its satisfying, almost architectural silhouette.
The iron has a dry, dark surface with the marks and wear of long domestic use. At nine inches high, it sits comfortably on a table, a deep window ledge or the bressummer shelf of an inglenook. Grouped with other early lighting, or set beside a piece of country oak, it speaks plainly of the cottage and farmhouse interiors in which it was made to serve.
Provenance: Ireland. 18th century.
Material: Hand-wrought iron.
Condition: Normal surface marks, wear, and oxidation commensurate with age and use. Please refer to the images.
Dimensions: Height 9 in (23 cm).
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