Wax jack owned by the Dennis Family

Source catalog description

This description refers to material held by Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture. Visual details below describe the original material.

The taper holder is a silver plated piece with three hallmarks or maker's marks pressed into the rim of the saucer/dish base. The center of the dish curves upward to support two curved parabolic prongs which curve out and up before meeting again at the top of the piece where they support a small metal cylinder with a circle cut in its center. A spool of candle wax wound on a thin metal rod with an oval handle is parallel to the base; the wax taper is threaded through the round metal piece at the top. There is a silver handle melded to rim just under the oval handle of the spool which unspools the beeswax taper. A small cone shaped candle-snuffer is attached to the PL prong by a hanging chain.

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