Why have few silver-gilt medieval candlesticks survived?

While silver-gilt candlesticks were once used to decorate the altars of great churches and the chapels of the nobility during the later Middle Ages, very few have survived to the present day.1

The primary reason for their scarcity is that these objects were made of precious metals, which made them highly valuable. Throughout history, such items were frequently destroyed or melted down to recover the gold and silver for other uses or to provide liquid wealth during times of need. This pattern of destruction was common for high-value metalwork, as the intrinsic material worth often outweighed the preservation of the object's artistic or historical form.2