Pair Of Candlesticks, Sterling Silver, Jean-françois Guillebert, Calais, 1724-1738

-  Pair of candlesticks
-  Sterling Silver
- Jean-François I Guillebert (master silversmith from 1724 to 1764)
-  Calais, 1724-1738
- Weight: 1029g, (510g & 519g)
- Width at the base: 12.8 cm, height: 22 cm
- Provenance: Owner's mark “PC”, private collection.

-  Pair of candlesticks resting on an octagonal foot in cavet and coves with fillet mouldings, a groove at the base of the bell-shaped umbilicus makes it possible to recover the overflow of wax. The node, the barrel, the collar and the binet are with alternating sides of threaded moldings.

-  This model of candlesticks is a typical model of the 1st third of the 18th century produced in all french jurisdictions such as this pair made by Laurent Burel in Aix (Provence) dated 1738 identical in all respects in their construction. In Calais, a goldsmith's pair is listed with chiseled decoration "à la Bérain" on an amati background with gadroons, at the base of the umbilicus, the barrel and the binet (Plouvier p.309 n°310)
• Hallmarks (under the navel): Recognition: fleur de lys, Calais, 1722 to 1738 (Plouvier, p.297); Charge of the sub-farmer: A crowned, Calais, 1722-1738 (Plouvier, p.297); Master silversmith: IG with crowned fleur-de-lys for Jean-François Guillebert, master silversmith from 1724 to 1764, his first hallmark used from 1724 to 1748 (Plouvier, pp. 611-612).

-  Calais silversmithing is relatively rare, the community of silversmiths dependent on the jurisdiction of Amiens found it difficult to exist in the face of the nearby cities of Flanders, especially Dunkirk, a few places away, exempt from the taxes of the kingdom of France and as lower money applied in so-called foreign provinces. This community never exceeded five goldsmiths in practice, many abandoning the trade for lack of work. Jean-François Guillebert and Antoine Willems seem to be, with regard to surviving goldsmithery, the two most prolific workshops.

-  Ref. : Plouvier, Martine & de Chassey, Arnaud : "Les orfèvres de Picardie, la Monnaie d’Amiens", AGIR-Pic, 2019 ; Messiant, Guy & Pfister, Christian : "Orfèvrerie en Flandre – Bergues -Dunkerque XVIIe-XIXe siècle », Musée des Beaux-Arts de Dunkerque, exposition du 4 décembre 1980 au 15 février 1981, 1980 ; Collectif : « L’orfèvrerie civile en Provence au XVIII^e siècle », exposition au Musée Grobet-Labadié du 26 novembre 2005 au 26 février 2006, 2005