Nanny Still Candelabra

A wonderful pine candelabra by Nanny Still for Norrmark, Finland, c.1962. 

Nanny Still will forever be remembered as a designer of glass. Her colourful and sought-after designs, produced at Riihimäki glassworks, established her as one of the most significant Finnish designers of the 20th Century. It may therefore be a surprise to many that her first international award, the 1954 Milan Triennial's Prix d'Honneur, was actually awarded for Still's designs in wood; the prize was given for a collection of hand-carved salad servers and spoons. 

Following her prize in Milan, Still chose to focus on glassware, but was approached in 1961 by Maire Gullichsen, a co-founder of Artek, to design a collection of wooden objects for her new venture, Norrmark; a company established with the intention of reviving Finland's ancient tradition of handcrafted wooden objects.

This playful candleholder dates from the early 1960's, during a time when Nanny Still was experiencing notable success and recognition. The piece is a great example of traditional woodcrafts being re-interpreted for the modern era.

There are visible parallels and similarities between Still's famous 'Harlekiini' glass service (1958) and her wooden works for Norrmark. Whilst strong geometry is a theme in much of Still's work, her pine objects and the 'Harlekiini' service both feature the geometric motif of stacked spheres and cones, as present on this candelabra. Whilst some pine objects from the collection feature large, sculptural wooden spheres, here Still has dangled small spheres beneath each sconce, in a playful fashion. 

The combination of Still's bold, exciting modernist shapes with the light, natural Finnish pine makes this piece an eye-catching and highly sculptural decorative object.