Candle-bearing Angel

This statue represents a candle-bearing angel stepping forward, knees slightly bent, portraying a sense of movement and energy, with wavy hair adorned with a beaded headband the centre of which is decorated with a small Tudor rose, and clothed in classical drapery gathered up at the back and falling to the base.

This candle-bearing angel is one of four originally designed for the tomb of Cardinal Thomas Wolsey, the principal prelate of Tudor England. It is a rare example of a large cast bronze figure from the early sixteenth century by an Italian sculptor working in England. In 1524 Cardinal Wolsey commissioned Florentine sculptor Benedetto da Rovezzano to design a magnificent tomb in the Renaissance style which would have been one of the major funerary commissions of the Tudor period. The scale of the tomb and its rich materials of black touchstone, white marble and gilded bronze would have reflected Cardinal Wolsey’s wealth and statesmanship at the height of his powers. After his downfall, the tomb parts were seized by Henry VIII to be used for his own monument.

Two of the four angels are in the Victoria and Albert Museum.