Provenance of a Family Heirloom
How our Norwegian cousin solved the mystery
As I pulled down the box of Solstice ornaments from a high shelf in the garage, I wondered about the provenance of a pair of candlesticks. They were grungy from years of use, the brass darkened with candle wax. I thought Mom said they were from our Norwegian grandfather, who left Norway as a teenager and never went back. Did he bring them with him when he immigrated to the U.S.?
Looking carefully at the base I could see the maker’s mark stamped there. The letters SB, then a crown, then No 5. I went online and looked through databases of metalworks. That got me nowhere, so I asked my brother Don if he had any information. He didn’t remember the candlesticks but did remember that he’d discovered a Norwegian cousin on Ancestry who still lives near our grandfather’s place of birth. Their correspondence follows.
8. des. 2024 Don Orr Martin
To: Rune Aalberg
A question from your cousin in Canada (Don now lives in Vancouver B.C.)
Hello Rune —
We emailed each other a couple of years ago about shared genealogy. I am one of the Wick relatives (along with Shelly Harris). My grandfather from Klokkervik was Ben Wick (Bernt Evensen).
My sister Molly recently remembered two candle holders that she was told by our mother belonged to Ben. She got them out of storage and plans to clean them up and use them. We suspect they were brought to the US from Norway in the 1890s, but have no documentation. I am attaching 3 photos Molly sent me. She has been trying to identify the foundry markings without any luck. We wondered if you might have access to internet search information in Norway about these markings on the bottoms of the candlesticks. Probably brass. We are curious about their origin.
Your cousin,
Don
8. des. 2024 Rune Aalberg
Hi, Don!
The time runs fast, and I have seen your box in my e-mail App, but I have been busy with collecting names to the database on my father’s side. Never ending work /research.
I have announced on Facebook that someone in Canada wants to know about the candle lights. The mark SB should be easy to find for the right person. If not I go to a jeweler and ask there.
I hope the winter time is kind to you. Here we still see the green areas, but have also had a couple of white days.
Until next time
Enjoy the Christmas time
Sun, Dec 8, 2024 Rune Aalberg
Hi!
I have sent an e-mail to Swedish Skultuna. Yours are very look alike. Long link:
Exiting. 😎
9. des. 2024 Don Orr Martin
Thanks Rune. I really appreciate your help in tracking down the origin of these heirlooms. The link does indeed look a lot like the ones Molly has. It is very possible they are from Sweden where our grandmother lived until she was 17.
Our early winter has been pretty mild so far. No snow yet except in the nearby mountains. Lots of salmon returning to the rivers here. John and I love to hike the many trails in parks along the ocean and the local rivers. We are looking forward to our annual trip to Baja, Mexico. We’ll spend 2 months from late January to late March. It’s about a 3,000K drive one way, but a very interesting trip once you get past the US.
Hope you have a pleasant holiday,
Don
From: Rune Aalberg
Date: Tue, Dec 10, 2024
Hi!
I have not got an answer from the company, but a response on FB says it is this company:
https://skultuna.com/en-no
Buy more 😉
SB = Skultuna Bruk (bruk can mean a farm, to use or meant for using, and they made products for daily usage).
The crown mark is the swedish one.
Take care of the candle lights and yourself, of course 🤗
Time to sleep for Rune 🥱
Our Norwegian cousin was right. The candlesticks are Swedish, made by a foundry that still exists and still sells the exact same product. We imagine that our grandmother, Gerda Wick (Persson), brought them with her when she immigrated to the U.S. in 1905. Candlesticks would have been a necessity before the advent of electric light.
From the Skultuna website:
Four centuries in the same place
The year was 1607, and King Karl IX could at last implement his long held plans for a Swedish brass industry. Refining copper into brass would reduce imports of brass and increase income from exports. The King had a man sent off on the Crown’s business to find a suitable location for a brass foundry, the choice fell on Skultuna, where the Svartån brook provided sufficient water power. Today, over four centuries later, the company still resides in the very same place in Skultuna. The first master braziers were called here from the brass foundries in Germany and the Netherlands, they also brought the technique on how to make large brass objects like chandeliers. The oldest known chandelier is in the Church of Our Lady in Enköping and is dated 1619. The journey throughout history has been rough at times, once the whole factory floated away with the spring flood and it has burnt down completely on at least three occasions.
Today you can follow them on Instagram, facebook and tiktok.
