A candle stand is a small, light piece of furniture designed to support a candlestick or candelabrum at a convenient height, allowing light to be moved around a room as required. Taller and more decorative examples are often called torchères, a term borrowed from French.
Candle stands became fashionable in England in the later seventeenth century, when they were frequently made in matching sets with a table and a pier glass, sometimes richly carved, gilded or veneered. Through the eighteenth century the typical form was a small circular or polygonal top on a turned column with a tripod base, made in mahogany, walnut or oak, with country versions in elm and fruitwood. Some had adjustable tops or screens, and simple wrought iron and wooden rushlight and candle holders were made for humbler homes. Grand Georgian houses had carved and gilded torchères designed by architects and leading cabinet makers to stand beside chimneypieces or pier tables. Many small tripod stands now described as candle stands may also have served as wine or occasional tables. Collectors check that the top and base belong together and that the tripod legs are free of old breaks.
