Pair of George II Style Gilt-Brass Wall-Lights

It’s tempting to surmise that these lights are versions of ones made for the Royal Barge of Frederick Prince of Wales, designed by William Kent in 1732 and built on the South Bank by John Hall, with their imaginative use of dolphins and the fleurs-de-lys finials, a popular symbol for Frederick Prince of Wales, and prominent on his coronet. It’s difficult, though, to work out where they may have hung in the richly decorated cabin of the Royal Barge, modified in 1849. The maiden voyage of the barge took place in the evening, and it was often used at night; the external sections were presumably lit by torches or lanterns, but there must have been some lighting in the cabin.

Rather similar candle branches figure in a drawing of a candelabrum which William Kent designed for Prince Frederick’s father, the King, here illustrated