Pair of candlesticks; Germany, 19th century

Pair of candlesticks; Germany, 19th century.
Chiseled and embossed silver, 800 fineness.
Bears hallmarks.
Total weight: 2,740 grams.
Measurements: 48 x 30 x 30 cm.

Pair of four-candle candelabras in 800-fine silver, Louis XVI style. Baluster-shaped shafts with draped garlands, resting on a circular base with a molded profile and decorated with plant motifs. Hallmarked with the “800” hallmark, the crescent moon, and the German imperial crown.

800 sterling silver is an alloy containing 80% silver and 20% other metals, almost always copper. Copper provides hardness and strength, as pure silver is too soft to be used for everyday objects. In Germany, the 800 standard became the legal standard following the unification of the Empire in 1871 and, above all, after the 1884 law that established the hallmarking system, which required the metal’s fineness to be indicated. Until then, different regulations had been in effect in each state, and finenesses of 750 or 812.5 (13 loth) were common; the new decimal standard simplified trade. The mandatory hallmarks were the crescent moon and the imperial crown, along with the 800 fineness mark.

This made it possible to produce solid silver pieces at a lower cost, using a more durable metal for everyday items and castings—a key factor for the German silver industry in Hanau, Schwäbisch Gmünd, and Berlin, which during the 19th and 20th centuries mass-produced silverware, candlesticks, and tableware in historical styles (Louis XVI, Rococo, Neoclassical) for the bourgeois market.