Pair of wrought iron candelabras by Börje Gunnarsson for Ystad-Metall, Sweden, 1950s

This is a pair of four-light candelabras in black-lacquered wrought iron designed by Börje Gunnarsson for Ystad-Metall. Each has a slim diagonal arm that carries four tapered candle cups at rising heights, so the candles form a stepped, ascending line. Both ends of the arm finish in a spiralling scroll, and a second pair of scrolls forms the front feet that the candelabra stands on. Each cup is pierced with a small diamond-shaped cut-out. Ystad-Metall combined in-house and external designers, but their real innovation was tapping into worker creativity. They introduced a 'Good Idea Box' for employee suggestions and held regular internal design competitions. The core idea: good design could come from anyone within the company, not just the trained designers. The pair on offer is the result of one of these competitions, won by Börje Gunnarsson, who designed the candelabra in the 1950s. It is featured in the book 'Ystad-Metall 1919–1969', where it is shown as an example of the company’s suggestion scheme. The pair is in good vintage condition, with plenty of patina and some wear to the lacquer, especially on the candle cups. This adds to the charm of the candelabras. They take tapered candles with a diameter of around 12 mm. Priced and sold as a pair: the candelabras are not available individually.