Thread by @friendschurches

The Gloucester Candlestick is an extraordinary survival. Dating from 1104-13, it’s a masterpiece of English metalwork, a gilt tangle of beasts clambering, clawing through fleshy foliage, struggling “to reach the light or sink into the darkness below”...

#thread

Incredibly, an inscription on the stem of candlestick clearly indicates its provenance: ‘The devotion of Abbot Peter and his gentle flock gave me to the Church of St Peter of Gloucester’. Peter was the abbot of the Benedictine Abbey in Gloucester in the early 12th century.

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However, somehow, Abbot Peter’s candlestick ended up in the treasury of Le Mans Cathedral, France. There are several points when it could’ve made its journey: the Abbey was destroyed by fire in 1122, was the candlestick stolen?

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About a decade later the Abbey was heavily looted. And at the end of century, the Abbey had to sell its silver in order to pay taxes… Was the candlestick one of the items sold?

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The candlestick was brought to
@V_and_A
 in 1861. Originally one of a pair, today only one survives.
Last year @GlosCathedral
embarked on an exciting project to create replicas of the candlestick using 3D printing.

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The replicas were created by building up aluminium powder layer-by-layer using. They then had a layer of gold leaf applied.

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We administer the Cottam Will Trust, which funds new art in churches.
We were delighted to offer a grant of over £5,000 towards this project, and last weekend were delighted to attend an event marking the return of the candlestick (sort of!) to Gloucester after 800yrs.

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Congratulations to all involved @GlosCathedral and beyond!

You can read more  about the candlestick here: m.vam.ac.uk/collections/it……

All images of the original candlestick(c)
@V_and_A