3D Printing Replicas Of A 12th Century Candlestick

Here at 3D Rapid Print, one of the fastest growing 3D Printing companies in the Thames Valley, we like to keep abreast of the latest innovations in 3D printing.

In August 2020, self-proclaimed “global, high precision metrology and healthcare technology group” Renishaw of Wotton-under-Edge, Gloucestershire 3D printed 2 replicas of a 12th century candlestick that had been held in London’s Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A) since 1861. Described by Gloucester Cathedral as “Considered to be one of the most significant examples of Romanesque art in Europe,” the original candlestick was commissioned circa 1110 by Abbot Peter for St Peter’s Abbey.

No one knows how and/or when the original candlestick ever left Gloucester. The V&A rhetorically asks if it was: stolen during a fire that destroyed St. Peter’s Abbey in 1122; not counted among the fire’s surviving objects as it had already left the Church of St Peter; stolen during a raid on the abbey during the reign of Abbot Foliot (1139-1148), or was among what St Peter’s Abbey was forced to sell in 1194 and 1210 to raise money for taxes. It eventually made its way to France’s Le Mans Cathedral, where a Parisian collector sold it to the V&A many years later.

The original candlestick was scanned and mapped before the replicas were 3D printed in aluminium powder over several days; they were also hand-finished to enhance the detail of their decoration and a gold patina was applied to them. One will be displayed in Gloucester Cathedral’s gallery chapel, the other in the treasury. The cathedral hopes that the replicas will be installed before September’s Gloucester History Festival, where they will be the focus of a series of lectures and activities.

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Disclaimer: Featured image of “Drawing, Design for a Candlestick, ca. 1820 (CH 18547641)” is a faithful photographic reproduction of a two-dimensional, public domain work of art. The work of art itself is in the public domain in its country of origin and other countries and areas where the copyright term is the author’s life plus 100 years or less.