Inside the bowls of the candlesticks (James Kebberling Bembridge, 1884) is the symbol of a harp. Is this the “Harp of David”, signifying the purity of silver, not “Pomegranate”?
1 Like
No response… Even the omniscient remains silent…
Looks like nobody knows what significance the harp holds. It’s probably nothing to do with silver purity as that is what the hallmark is for.
2 Likes
Phil, with all due respect, there’s a person on this forum who knows everything. Why is he silent when a topic requires effort because it’s not obvious and unusual? Maybe I’m a pain in the ass, but I can’t stand people educated beyond their intelligence. I regularly review topics that none of you have even considered… I consider them simple, obvious, and require only a modicum of commitment. I know, I usually use laconic information to force the questioner to make minimal intellectual effort. Sometimes I hand over a ready-made answer. Sometimes I find a sticking point that sticks in my throat…
And then I read comments about Poles being know-it-alls and dominating… I guess that’s a good thing. Maybe that’s why we won wars, didn’t surrender to occupiers, and gave the world scientists and inventors. And on this forum, I get the impression I’m not welcome… I like to raise the bar, I like challenges, otherwise I’d still be sitting in a tree eating bananas.
1 Like
The harp looks more related to the numbers so maybe some kind of inventory thing? The maker is from Sheffield and the retailer is from London so maybe part of a household inventory from a manor house? Just a guess. Couldn’t find anything trolling the webs to steer in the right direction.
2 Likes
James Bembridge ran Hawkesworth, Eyre & Co alone after 1874 when his partners retired. This illustration is of a lyre – a musical instrument sometimes referred to as a “David’s Harp”. David was supposed to have used it to soothe his protagonists. Plan “B” being a sling-shot rock to the forehead.
The firm used various symbols to illustrate wholesale destinations and the Lyre indicated it was to be sold through the London premises in this case to Lambert & Co on Coventry Street.
The lyre is a pun on the name Eyre formerly the nomenclature of the second partner in the firm. The “L” being two strokes less than the “E” commencing the original name.
For plated goods similarly destined to the UK”s capital city, the decorative crowning element or “capital” of a column was put to similar use The firm, thinking perhaps the “capital” pun would be too obscure for those buying plate, added the word CAPITAL in capital letters underneath the column. It apparently didn’t think the same was necessary for the Lyre pun.
CRWW