612 - Miner candlestick, candle-bearing miner in uniform, plumed hat and sabre, carved and painted wood

Miner candlestick, candle-bearing miner in uniform, plumed hat and sabre, carved and painted wood Wood, carved and polychrome painted, miner candlestick, standing figure of a miner in uniform on a rock-like base. Tall green miner's shako with feather plume, white collar, black jacket with button placket, yellow trousers, black knee straps and white gaiters, in the right hand a staff with pick, in the left hand the candle arm with drip pan and nozzle, sabre on a hanger, pouch on the belt. Condition commensurate with age, pick damaged, feet glued, candle arm glued, sabre hanger torn, paint on the headgear partially flaked. H. 43 cm. 360-degree photo available on our website. Candle figures with mining motifs have their roots in the pewter altar candlesticks of the 17th century; one impetus is considered to be the donation of two candlesticks by mining shareholders in Zöblitz in 1672. Carved miner figures for private use are documented from the middle of the 19th century. For miners, light underground was of existential importance; the candle-bearing miner (Lichterbergmann), often paired with the candle-bearing angel (Lichterengel), is a typical candle figure of Erzgebirge folk art. Such figures show the hierarchy of mining, from the mine boy through the hewer to the overman, each with his own dress and working tools; well-known centres of production were Schneeberg, Zöblitz and Kirchberg.