Four stunning silver candlesticks have recently arrived in the RCP museum. Dr William Wasey (1691–1757) purchased these candlesticks in 1750. Wasey was RCP president from 1750 to 1754, but the candlesticks were a personal acquisition made possible through the generosity of an earlier RCP fellow.
A clause in the will of Baldwin Hamey junior (1600–1676) – one of the RCP’s most important benefactors – provided for each president to purchase for themselves ‘a piece of silver plate of above three score ounces’ silver’. An entry in the college cashbook for 19 September 1750 records that Wasey received £25, ‘being the annual donation of the late Dr Hamey for a piece of plate’, and the treasurer later reported that he had ‘bought two pairs of chaised Candlesticks therewith’.
This is the only known instance of a president buying silver according to the provisions of Hamey’s will. Baldwin Hamey’s importance to the RCP, and the lack of other material related to William Wasey in the RCP collections, made these four candlesticks an essential acquisition for the museum.
The style, design and craftsmanship of the candlesticks are exceptional. Engraved at the base are the coats of arms of the RCP and of Wasey himself and above them are sculptured female forms holding up Egyptian flowers. The fluid modelling and continuous movement in the bases makes them some of the purest examples of the influential English rococo style.
The RCP has a superb collection of silver dating back almost 500 years. Many of these objects are at the heart of RCP tradition and several are still used in ceremonies. Objects include the caduceus – the presidential symbol of office – and a small bell once owned by Hamey, which is the earliest known piece of English hallmarked silver and still rung at meetings today.
These new candlesticks were purchased with help from the Art Fund, the V&A Purchase Grant Fund and the Beecroft Bequest. We are adding the candlesticks to our Treasures Room displays alongside other extraordinary pieces of early silver during our summer closure period. The museum will reopen on Monday 1 September 2014.
Beth Wilkey, curator
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