Arts Minister Places Temporary Export Bar On A Pair Of Silver Wall Sconces With The Mark Of Thomas Corbett, 1701
Minister of State for the Arts, Tessa Blackstone, has placed a temporary bar on the export of a pair of William III silver wall sconces, both bearing the maker's mark of Thomas Corbett, which were originally supplied to Hugh, 2nd Baron Clifford of Chudleigh (1663-1730), of Ugbrooke Park, Devon. This will provide a last chance to raise the money to keep the sconces in the United Kingdom.
The Minister's ruling follows a recommendation by the Reviewing Committee on the Export of Works of Art that the export decision be deferred. This reflects the outstanding significance of the sconces for the study of silver and the history of domestic lighting, particularly on account of the change in their original use and consequential adaptations.
The deferral will enable purchase offers to be made at the following agreed fair market price:
- A pair of silver wall sconces with the mark of Thomas Corbett,1701, deferred at the recommended price of just over £102,800. (including VAT) until after 18 April 2003. The deferral period could be extended until after 18 July 2003 if there is a serious intention to raise funds with a view to making an offer to purchase.
Anyone interested in making an offer to purchase the sconces should contact the owner's agent through:
The Secretary, The Reviewing Committee on the Export of Works of Art, Department for Culture, Media and Sport, 2-4 Cockspur Street, London SW1Y 5DH
Notes to Editors
Pictures of these items can be downloaded free of charge from our site on PA Picselect. Please go to the DCMS folder situated within the Arts section of Picselect either at http://www.papicselect.com/ or through the PA bulletin board.
These silver wall sconces were commissioned by Hugh,2nd Baron Clifford of Chudleigh, who was the younger son of Thomas, 1st Baron Clifford, Lord Treasurer to Charles II, and one of that king's closest advisors, the 'C' of the CABAL ministry. Thomas Clifford drew up the documents of the Secret Treaty of Dover, by which Louis XIV promised French support for an attempt to re-establish the Catholic faith in England.
As a committed Roman Catholic, Thomas Clifford was forced to resign his office in 1673 following the Test Act, which required all office holders to take communion according to the rites of the Church of England. Hugh, the fifth son, succeeded as 2nd Baron at the age of ten, on his father's death four months after his resignation as Lord Treasurer.
Hugh Clifford spent his teenage years quietly in the country leading a frugal existence. He increased the family property by his marriage in about 1685 to Anne, co-heiress of Sir Thomas Preston of Furness in Lancashire. By 1695 he was able to purchase the remaining parts of the Manor of Chudleigh in Devon for £253 7s and by his death in 1730 the family finances were in reasonably good condition.
These sconces therefore mark the restoration of the Clifford family fortunes and a programme of commissioning domestic silver engraved with the Clifford armorials, much of which remains in family ownership and available for study. They reflect the 2nd Baron's desire to continue the family tradition of collecting silver, following Charles II's sumptuous Christening gift to his godson Charles Clifford of a silver-gilt dish and ewer made by Johann Jaeger of Augsburg. Fashionable silver was symbolic of status and reflected the important role of the Clifford family in the life of the nation.
The Ugbrooke sconces represent a new design solution in contrast to the earlier baroque oval cartouche form which emerges from the 1660s. Their rectilinear design is inspired by the development of newly fashionable contemporary giltwood mirror frames, firescreens and silver toilet mirrors. The design is extremely practical as they could be easily transported, hung for temporary or permanent use by their silver hooks, or simply placed on a horizontal surface. The bases of the sconces are of similar dimensions to candleslides which were designed to pull out from the base of a bookcase section and may originally have been designed for use on a combined desk and bookcase.
The practical L-shape of the Ugbrooke sconces is the earliest securely dated example in silver of what became a popular form of domestic lighting in base metal. Instead of the costly silver sheet, a mirror back plate in a brass frame reflected the single candle light. Although the fixed plain silver nozzles are slightly later (c.1725, but not marked) they are probably an adjustment made in the lifetime of the 2nd Baron and therefore do not detract from their importance for study. The hooks may have been added at the time that the candleholders were replaced, as wall-hung sconces would have required higher candle supports in order to project light effectively.
It was common for silver made on commission to escape the marking process. The combination of the marks on the Ugbrooke sconces and their contemporary engraved armorials add to their importance and rarity as does the documented history of ownership by the Clifford family until their sale at Sotheby's in 1987.
Ugbrooke was used as a school during the Second World War and subsequently became a hostel for disabled Polish servicemen and it was only in 1957 that the family returned to begin the task of restoration, which is now complete. Ugbrooke is regularly open to the public.
The recommended price at which the application to export the sconces is deferred is £102,801.25.
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