Pair of Wall Sconces

1730/31

These extravagantly ornamented sconces were originally part of an impressive silver collection amassed by George Booth, second Earl of Warrington. They come from a set of six made for the earl's bedchamber at his country estate. In the center of each, an image modeled in relief illustrates a story from Ovid's Metamorphoses: one depicts Phaethon falling from the chariot of the sun while the other shows Narcissus transfixed by his reflection in a still pond.

Medium	silver
Dimensions	No. 5: 16 1/16 x 11 11/16 x 9 5/16 in. (40.8 x 29.7 x 23.7 cm); troy weight: 110.75 toz (3444.7 g) No. 6: 16 1/16 x 11 3/4 x 9 5/16 in. (40.8 x 29.8 x 23.7 cm); troy weight: 107.75 toz (3351.4 g); scratch weight (101=19): 101.95 toz (3171 g)
Object Number	1991.18
Acquisition	Acquired by the Clark, 1991
Status	On View

Image Caption

Peter Archambo I, Pair of Wall Sconces, 1730/31, silver. Clark Art Institute, Acquired by the Clark, 1991.18

Select Bibliography

Tipping, H. Avray. "The Second Earl of Warrington's Silver Plate, II." Country Life 49 (16 April 1921): 470–73. Banister, Judith. "Master of Elegant Silver: Peter Archambo, Free Butcher and Goldsmith." Country Life 173 (9 June 1983): 1594–95. Culme, John Culme. "The Dunham Massey Sconces." In Sotheby's: Art at Auction, 1989–90. London: Sotheby's Publications, 1990. Grimwade, Arthur G. London Goldsmiths, 16971837: Their Marks and Lives. Third ed., rev. and enl. London: Faber and Faber, 1990. Armitage Saadat & Co., Ltd. Advertisement. Apollo 132, no. 345 (November 1990). Bourne, Jonathan, and Vanessa Brett. Lighting in the Domestic Interior: Renaissance to Art Nouveau. London: Sotheby's, 1991. Moncrieff, Elspeth. "The Silver Lining: A Review of the Silver Market." Apollo 133 (February 1991): 108–11. Decorative Arts Society. Newsletter 1 (Fall 1992): 78. Anonymous. "The Decorative Arts: Recent Museum Acquisitions." Apollo 137 (January 1993): 28–51. Lomax, James. "Parsimony by Candlelight: Lord Warrington's Silver Lighting Equipment." Apollo: The National Trust Historic Houses and Collections Annual 137 (1993). Anonymous. "La chronique des arts." Gazette des Beaux-Arts 121 (supplement, March 1993). Kern, Steven, et al. The Clark: Selections from the Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute. New York: Hudson Hills Press, 1996. Wees, Beth Carver. English, Irish, and Scottish Silver at the Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute. New York: Hudson Hills Press, 1997. Wees, Beth Carver. "Silver in the Clark Art Institute." The Magazine Antiques 62, no. 4 (October 1997): 536–45. Wees, Beth Carver. "Huguenot Silver at the Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute." Huguenot Heritage Issue 5 (Winter 1999): 13. Shirley, Pippa. "Review of English, Irish and Scottish Silver at the Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute by Beth Carver Wees." The Burlington Magazine 140, no. 1147 (October 1998): 692–93.

Provenance

George Booth, second earl of Warrington; by descent to his daughter, Mary; by descent to Catherine, Lady Grey of Enville Hall, Stourbridge, and Sir John Foley Grey, Bart., sale Christie's, London, 20 April 1921, lot 59; bought Permain, London; sold Sotheby's, London, 3 May 1990, lot 156; with Armitage Saadat & Co. Limited, London; sold by Spink & Son Ltd., London, to Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute, 25 September 1991.