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Silver, four with the London hallmark 1668, goldsmith's mark IN above a bird; the other six S crowned and without a date letter, candlebranches c. 1690, mark of Arthur Manwaring

These richly chased and embossed sconces with the initials of Charles II are rare examples of the Restoration court taste for auricular ornament. The grotesque mask, the bat's wing and scalework had all appeared in the silver made by Christian van Vianen for Charles I and his workshop presumably revived the style in the 1660s. French ornament drawing on acanthus and putti motifs replaced it in the 1670s; the candlebranches are replacements, of the early 1690s, perhaps when Ralph Montagu as Master of the Wardrobe was in a position to acquire them from the Jewel House.

PROVENANCE The Duke of Buccleuch by descent