A pair of monumental patinated bronze and cast iron seven-light candelabra, late 19th-early 20th century, after the model created by Maso di Bartolomeo for the Duomo of Pistoia

By tradition, would come for the collection of Henry Clay Frick (1849-1919)

These monumental candelabra were modelled after a bronze and cast iron candelabra preserved in the Duomo of Pistoia in Italy, made around 1440 by Maso di Bartolomeo (1406–1456). A Florentine sculptor and bronze smith of the early Renaissance, close to Donatello, he is known for his bronze works combining monumentality and elegance, notably his candelabra and the gate of the Sacra Cintola in Prato Cathedral. Less famous than his contemporaries, he nevertheless played an important role in spreading Donatello's style in the 15th century.

The authorship of this work was attributed to this artist in the first half of the 20th century by a team of Italian researchers; a series of documents was analysed and the patron of this work was also identified as the Bishop of Pistoia, Donato de' Medici. According to documentary sources, on 2 November 1440 – the same year that the exterior oratory of the Madonna known as “delle Porrine” was commissioned, also in Pistoia – the sum of 426 lire was agreed as payment to Tommaso, sculptor, for the creation of a monumental bronze candelabrum, to be executed according to the specified terms and with the approved materials.

Our two pairs of candelabra differ from the original in the addition of chains between the branches and the addition of spherical globes with garlands of glass beads.

Maso di Bartolomeo also created a similar monumental candelabra for Prato Cathedral in Italy, which still stands in its original location.