Votive Candle Holders, Set of 8
This set of votive candle holders is made to match a Georg Jensen tea service designed by Henning Koppel and owned by the customer.
All eight holders are hand-smithed. To ensure consistency, a smithing stake was customized to lock each piece at a constant angle during the final shaping.
With regard to function, the candles may be easily pushed out from below, and the contour near the top reads clearly as a place to receive the hand.
Early stages of raising: the four holders in the back have been just begun, and the four in front are shown after one complete "course" of raising (the entire surface worked).
The four holders in the back now have about 3 courses. During the raising process, a mechanical advantage achieved over the metal gradually constricts the overall circumference of the disk (a thickening process) while, at the same time, the metal is pinched between steel (a thinning process). The top of the four holders shown in the front row are beginning to be worked into a curved contour.
The top area of all eight pieces are now contoured, and all of the centers have been cut out. The holder in my hand has been fully smithed to its final shape.
Three holders seen at three stages of completion (from right to left). This photograph clearly shows the progression of how the outer circumference is constricted in upon itself. Very gradually, and with frequent annealing, the metal literally flows as a plastic solid. Each course is necessarily a tiny approximation toward a goal.
One of the finished set of eight. A receptacle for the votive candle has been constructed and soldered in place. The entire surface is smoothed and polished.