Portacandele scultorei 'Puzzle' in alluminio e ottone, set da 3 pezzi

Three wavering pillars of silver and gold, these Mid-Century Modern candleholders are the Puzzle model by David Marshall, made in Spain in the 1970s and signed on the base. Cast in aluminium and polished brass, they rise at three different heights, and their molten feet lock together into a single pool of metal or drift apart across a table.

Marshall is known for sculptural objects in cast metal, and this set carries his feeling for the hand-formed and the organic. Nothing here is turned or perfectly straight. The aluminium shafts bend like reeds in a current, the brass cups open like small flowers, and the bases spread as if the metal had only just cooled. The puzzle idea gives the set a playful double life, one sculpture when the feet are fitted together and three separate candleholders the moment you lift them apart.

Up close the surfaces keep every trace of the casting, small pits and ripples that catch the light, while the cool grey of the aluminium and the warm gleam of the brass give each piece its rhythm. Gather them at the centre of a dining table and light the candles, and the flames hover at three levels above a puddle of gold. Spread them along a mantelpiece or a sideboard, and they read as three slender figures caught mid-dance.

Dimensions are for the total set.