Candleholders

Candleholders

Martín de Galarreta commissioned six candleholders of various sizes for his Chapel of Christ and only five of these still remain today. They were intended to illuminate the altar of the Holy Christ during the most important celebrations. They were made in Madrid in 1674 by the silversmith Andrés Sevillano, as can be deduced from the marks they bear: a tower (Madrid) and the initials “ADS/SEVI”. They were engraved by the silversmith Melchor Ortiz de Zárate when they arrived in Vitoria with the following inscription: “SOI DE D. MARTIN DE GALARRETA I OCARIZ SRIO DEL REI”.

They are unadorned items in line with the common types of the 17th century. They have a circular base with an inscribed lower edge, a turned and moulded shaft that begins in a cylindrical neck, an ovoid knot with central protruding moulding and an elongated pear-shaped stem. They are surmounted by a dish and cylindrical socket resting on large protruding convex moulding.