French candlesticks from this time have three parts: the bobeche, column, and base. The bobeche (drip pan) fits around the candle and sits inside the column. Today, bobeches are seldom original to their candlesticks. Thick, handwrought threads connect the base to the column and attest to the piece's authenticity. Also look for a seam on the column: "A technical improvement at the beginning of the 18th century allowed the column to be cast in two parts," explains Robert E. Smith, owner of Au Vieux Paris Antiques in Breaux Bridge, Louisiana. "The seam joining the halves can be detected for authentication purposes."

"The basic silhouette of the French domestic socket-type candlestick is constant through the 18th century," says Smith. "But the surface decoration reflects the changing vogues of successive monarchs and régimes."

From 1715 to 1774, candlesticks captured Régence and Louis XV styles with curvaceous forms engraved on the base and a column with balusters and often a twist. Louis XVI examples  have a more architectonic, linear treatment, with a column reflecting the architecture of the period, fluting on the base, and beading along the edge of the bobeche and base. During the Directoire period, a restrained style of plain columns took hold. The Empire style shows a reworking of neoclassical motifs.

Today, collectors still prize French candlesticks, which are as versatile and durable as they are beautiful. Designer William R. Eubanks applies no hard-and-fast rule to the use of French candlesticks in his interiors. "We're just as likely to use them on a sideboard or on a dining room table as we are to group them on a coffee table for an interesting accent. By French wiring (along the outside to avoid drilling into the old bronze), I've even converted a few beautifully ornate examples into dressing table lamps."