The precious variety of agate jasper in gray and brown tones is of Sicilian provenance' confirming the manufacture of these two candlesticks to the region that invented the typical inlay of coral on copper that is seen well applied here, both for decorative and functional purposes as the various metal rings serve to cover the joint of the individually carved stone parts.

In the same rare stone is a vase of probable French workmanship and mount from the 15th century forming part of the Treasure of Lorenzo the Magnificent whose initials it bears (Florence, Museo degli Argenti).

The use of jasper paired with coral to form the works presented here is unusual, however, and makes the specimens especially valuable. The only other hard stone that was combined with the works of the Trapanese “corallari” seems to have been rock crystal: several objects of liturgical purpose of Sicilian manufacture in which coral and crystal are combined are known, as in the large crucifix of the Church of Jesus in Casa Professa (Palermo). 3 There is also documentary evidence of no longer extant or unidentified works of this kind: among the goods listed in the inventory drawn up at the death of the Duke of Bracciano, Flavio Orsini, in 1696 are listed “two lustres of crystal garnished with corals,” referring in all likelihood to candelabra.

Two different types of craftsmen were involved in the construction of our candlesticks, the goldsmiths who specialized in cutting and setting coral on copper along with an expert stoneworker who tackled the particularly hard stone. One of the few known craftsmen's names is that of a certain Gian Giorgio (identified as a German goldsmith active in Palermo Giovanni Giorgio Stella), author of the hard and soft stone inlays inserted on the silver and coral cabinets commissioned by the Viceroy of Sicily Claude Lamoral I, Prince de Ligne in 1670-1672.5.

The style of our specimens repeats synthesized that of other Sicilian coral and copper candlesticks datable to the mid-seventeenth century, such as those in a little-known altar mute in the cathedral of Genzano (Rome) where it arrived in 1664 as a gift from Cardinal Girolamo Colonna (1604-1666).

Expertise by Roberto Valeriani