A particular Italian silver candelabrum, circa 1820, Venice (?)

Resting on three feet twisted with vegetal scrolls, from which depart the central candle holder and the two side arms decorated with vine shoots and vine leaves; the three candle holders, richly decorated at the base with fruit knots, are topped by elegant lanterns with yellow glass on which the spire-shaped lids are grafted, the central one topped by the merchant flag perforated with the Lion of St. Mark. The front also features a pinned scrolltopped by the ducal horn, decorated on the sides by two facing putti and centred by the Lion of St. Mark or Marcian Lion, the centuries-old symbol of the city of Venice and its ancient Republic. The lion, a symbolic representation of the Evangelist Mark, is depicted in the form of a winged lion with an open book bearing the Latin inscription 'PAX TIBI MARCE EVANGELISTA MEVS'. The connection of St. Mark's lion with Venice derives from the tradition according to which an angel in the form of a winged lion is said to have addressed to the saint, shipwrecked in the lagoons, the phrase: 'Pax tibi Marce, evangelista meus. Hic requiescet corpus tuum' (Peace to you, Mark, my evangelist. Here your body will rest), foretelling him that his body would one day find rest and veneration in those lands. Resting on a triangular marble base with concave sides.

Item condition grading: **** good, minor signs of use commensurate with use over time.