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Unburied treasure

Posted On: 01 Feb 2020 by Keith Butler

Selling for £1,050 in our collectables auction, this mediaeval candlestick was a remarkable discovery....

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Unburied treasure

Selling for £1,050 in our 26th October 2019 auction, this mediaeval candlestick was a common enough object in it’s time - simply another household necessity.

Even so, many very old everyday artefacts its mere survival makes it fascinating, but there’s also a story attached. 

The tale takes place one spring morning. Though early, a man decides to make the most of the beautiful weather. He dresses, pulls on his boots and sets out across the lush and gentle Suffolk countryside. 

Making his way along the side of a freshly ploughed field, something catches his eye. It is distinct and different, smooth and equal - it's definitely manmade. This in itself isn’t particularly surprising; agricultural fields are places of work, parts occasionally fall from machines and workers drop or discard tools and such. This though, the man senses, is special.

What he found, unearthed by a ploughshare after lying hidden for centuries, is of course the candlestick you see here. The new owner had friends in the metallurgy industry who carefully removed layers of dirt and corrosion to reveal the details of this elegant, simple treasure.

The candlestick measures a little over 15cms, is made of brass and incorporates neat turned decoration. Compact and sturdy, it would have been the type used for reading or writing - essentially it is the mediaeval equivalent of a desk lamp. The item's origins, who its former owners were and how it came to be buried in East Anglian farmland will of course always remain mysteries.

One thing this little candlestick may tell us though, having lain concealed for so long, is that even today you don’t need a metal detector to find hidden treasure - just a sharp eye and a sunny morning stroll!