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Price category: 500 - 2,500 usd / eur

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In 1934, Josef Frank made his first attempt at modernizing the classic candelabra. With softly swaying forms, he eliminated the base in the middle, placing the branches of this model directly on the tabletop. This candelabra emits a pleasant light and its special design makes it a perfect centrepiece.

Candlesticks and candle holders are appreciated decoration details that bring warmth and spread a soft glow in the room. In the case of this model, the body itself spreads a soft glow thanks to its bright brass structure. This model predates the famous Knot of Friendship, but already showcases the looping calligraphic design. The six branches share the same curve but are arranged asymmetrically so that the candles stand at different heights. This allows the design to look different from each angle. The candles elongate the otherwise busy design and keep the upper part light and airy while also highlighting the elaborate brass structure. The candles are held by brass cups that have so-called chambersticks, small pans to catch dripping wax. The cups have removable extra cups in an organic, flower-like shape. The glass has a golden rim to accentuate the shape and elevate the aesthetic of the whole candle holder.

The Austrian designer and architect, Josef Frank was the most prestigious designer in the Stockholm design company Svenskt Tenn (Swedish Pewter), recruited by the founder of the company, Estrid Ericson herself. Svenskt Tenn hired Josef Frank in 1934, the same year he created the design of this model, making it one of his earliest designs at the company.

Condition:

In good vintage condition. Wear consistent with age and use. The brass has a beautiful patina with some marks.

Dimensions:

11.81 in W x 11.81 in D x 8.66 in H

30 cm W x 30 cm D x 22 cm H

About the designer:

Josef Frank (July 15, 1885 – January 8, 1967) was an Austrian-born architect, artist, and designer who adopted Swedish citizenship in the latter half of his life. Together with Oskar Strnad, he created the Vienna School of Architecture, and its concept of Modern houses, housing, and interiors.

Josef Frank was one of early Vienna modernism’s foremost figures, but already in the beginning of the 1920s he started to question modernism’s growing pragmatism. He had little appreciation for the French architect Le Corbusier’s belief that a house should be “a machine for living in”. He was against puritanical principles and on the contrary, feared that standardized interiors would make people all too uniform. Josef Frank represented a freer, more artistic style ideal, and he developed his own type of modernism where values like comfort, hominess, and a wealth of colour were at its core. He resisted limitations and models for his furniture and textiles came from across all boundaries both in time and space.

Josef Frank began working at Svenskt Tenn in 1934 and just a few years later, the Frank-Ericson duo made their international breakthrough. Svenskt Tenn’s exhibition room at the World Expositions in Paris in 1937 and New York in 1939 was completely contrary to the ideal of the time with its bold contrasts in materials, colours, and prints. The duo received a great deal of attention and became, somewhat paradoxically, the model for the expression “Swedish Modern”. Although he was already 50 years old when he left Vienna for Sweden, Frank is considered one of Sweden’s most important designers.