French Crystal Daum Candleholders from Cristal de Vannes, 1960s, Set of 2

Particular pair of crystal candlesticks, this is ''superior crystal'' that is with a percentage of lead oxide over 30%, the high content of lead, instead of calcium, present in ordinary glass, gives the crystal a remarkable hardness, exceptional transparency and a high index of refraction, the two candlesticks are also exclusive for their unusual and personal form, the craftsman worked the crystal manually in a masterful way creating two objects from the soft line, pleasant and elegant. They were made by the company Cristal de Vannes (see label on the base), an excellence among the French glassworks. The glassworks was founded in 1765 by the Countess de Mazirot de Reims, in 1788 Nicolas Griveau became the owner, but the production was scarce; the activity took off in 1823 when the company was purchased by the Schmid family, glassmakers from Alsace who undertook colossal works, greatly improving the quality of production; around 1880 the property passed to Bourbonneux family, who continued to expand the company, gradually passing from glass to crystal, making it with time one of the most important glassworks of France; in 1960 the company merged with Bayel and Cristallerie de Vallery glassworks commercializing its products with the label ''Cristal de Vannes until 1964; from 1970 the items were branded ''Cristal de Sèvres'' and from 1980 ''Daum''. The quality of production, since the '50s, was very high, the objects were designed by the most important architects and artists from France and abroad, also were created by master craftsmen of great skill. Measures width cm.18, depth cm.10, height cm.19.