This candelabrum is an excellent example of DevlinÂ’s mature work, exploiting his trademark use of contrasting textures and colours, particularly in the elaborate tooled and heavily gilt openwork of the candle cages.
Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery has been building a significant collection of modern and contemporary silver and metalwork since 1997.However, while there is great strength in the pieces from the 1990s onwards, the 1970s and 1980s are less well represented. This gift greatly increases the museumÂ’s representation of post-war silver. The Devlin candelabrum can be shown alongside works in the cityÂ’s Civic Plate collection by his near-contemporaries at the Royal College, Eric Clements, Robert Welch and Gerald Benney. Extract of an article in the 2007 Art Fund Review written by Martin Ellis.
Provenance
Collection of Miss Joan Hurst.