Pricket Candlestick

This single-light wooden candlestick is assembled along a vertical axis from several turned elements. Structurally, it consists of a stepped, conical, three-lobed base transitioning into a figurative shaft, which terminates in a wide wax pan with a sharp pricket in the centre.
The upper part of the candlestick features a flat, wide-diameter pan with a low rim, in the centre of which is a short, sharp pricket for securing the candle. This so-called "spiked" attachment type is characteristic of folk candlesticks. The elegant shaft is turned in the form of several consecutively alternating convex and concave geometric shapes of a classic baluster profile. This rhythmic, symmetrical pattern of the shaft is a typical technique of woodturning, lending a palpable plastic expressiveness to the small-sized object. The three-lobed base has the shape of a stepped cone tapering upwards. The base rests on three small ball feet (two are missing), which slightly elevate the object and provide additional structural stability. The relatively simplified, somewhat coarse modelling of forms and the absence of decorative embellishments indicate the hand of a folk craftsman who created the candlestick without any pretension to sophisticated carving. The piece is a characteristic yet modest example of a turned wooden folk object of ecclesiastical utility, demonstrating the skill of local craftsmen to create an expressive plastic form even without the use of complex carved decor.

Borys Voznytskyi Lviv National Art Gallery