French Country · Encyclopedia · Fire and Light
Candle and splint holder
A seventeenth-century wrought-iron holder that took either a candle or, to save money, a splint of wood soaked in resin, gripped between its uprights. Some are shaped with a heart.
French: bougeoir porte-éclat · 17th century · wrought iron
At a glance
- Period: seventeenth century
- Material: wrought iron
- Lights held: candle or resin splint
- Motif: heart, intentional or not
What it is
The holder has a socket for a candle and a pair of uprights or a spring clip that could pinch a splint. Splints of resin-soaked wood gave little light but cost almost nothing, which made them the everyday light of poorer households.
The book wonders whether the heart shape on one example is deliberate or simply comes from the way the metal is bent to grip the candle.
Village smiths as artists
These holders were made by village blacksmiths who, the book says, were also art craftsmen. Clip or spring, the splint holder could look purely decorative when the candle was in place, but its double function reflects the economy of country life.
Collecting and displaying it
Seek hand-forged examples with uneven hammering and old wear on the clip. Bases are sometimes later replacements.
Grouped on a table, iron candle holders make a strong, graphic display, especially by candlelight.
Source: Les Trésors de France: vieux métiers et objets d'autrefois (Éditions Rustica, Détours en France collection, 1995), pp. 116–121, with general background on the object. The book was published in 1995, so workshops, people and figures are described as they were then. Regional names and dates are given as the book records them; a style or a region of origin does not by itself date an individual piece.