Antique Brass Pricket Candlestick with Christ Medallion, France, 1880

A tall antique French altar candlestick in brass, made around 1880. A fluted column with turned knops rises from a scrolled tripod base, and the top ends in a drip pan with a pricket to hold a large church candle. The three sides of the base are decorated in relief with oval medallions, among them the head of Christ, framed by scrolls and a bow. A decorative piece of 19th-century religious metalwork that stands out on a mantelpiece, sideboard or console, alone or with a candle. Condition: tarnish to the brass and some green verdigris on the pricket, consistent with age.