Pair of candlesticks 1738 - 1739

Curator: These striking silver candlesticks were crafted in France between 1738 and 1739 by Guillaume Ledoux. They are currently held in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Editor: They look so cool. They are so intricately designed, yet when I look at them, I feel a stillness like gazing at calm water under moonlight. Does that make sense? Curator: It does. Their silver material definitely suggests a specific kind of consumption during that era, signaling power and wealth through meticulous production. Baroque art often functioned as an ideological tool, where luxury was paramount. Editor: It is difficult to reconcile the present. Today it could just be aluminum foil, but there were serious skills needed to mold it that delicately and with what I assume, no error, right? I wonder if he would've scoffed to think we’d someday light them with artificial lights powered by something like...burning coal. Curator: No doubt! Think about the resources required – from the mining of the silver, its refinement, and the artisan labor involved, Ledoux’s signature, as well, reflects status and artistic capital intertwined with craft. Editor: Now that you mention the artisan behind the design, it has a clear signature feel, yet a practical tool used in common occasions by elites. Did those who purchased this type of item have particular political allegiances or beliefs reflected? Curator: The decorative language certainly implies it, signaling loyalty to aristocratic tastes and monarchical power. Their display in domestic spaces reinforced societal hierarchies and aesthetic preferences within courtly circles. Editor: I like the phrase "decorative language" in our modern perspective. So the creation of such an everyday luxury served a purpose much greater than we’d first think today, but I still hold to my original view when I saw the pair! Curator: Well, that tension is precisely where the value lies, don't you think? Juxtaposing production and impact.