Cast Iron Candleholder by Ulla Fogelklou-Skogh — Antikjärn Series, Ystad-Metall, Sweden, circa 1965

A rare and characterful piece of Swedish design history — this cast iron candleholder was designed by Ulla Fogelklou-Skogh as part of the Antikjärn series produced by Ystad-Metall of Ystad, Skåne, from 1965 until the company’s sale in 1969.

The form is immediately striking: a wide, low-slung body raised on four arched feet, with two square candle sockets rising from the top — each bored through with a circular opening sized for a standard taper candle. The silhouette has an almost totemic, pre-historic quality, somewhere between a crouching animal and an abstract architectural form. The surface of the piece is decorated with a scattered pattern of hand-stamped circles and small asterisk or snowflake motifs — a decorative detail that runs across the entire width of the piece and continues around the sockets, giving the otherwise raw and heavy casting a lightness and rhythm. The underside is hollow and reveals the characteristic rough inner surface of sand-cast iron, with the faint remnants of the maker’s mark visible in the base.

The Antikjärn Series

Antikjärn — loosely translated as “cast iron antiques” — was launched by Ystad-Metall in the mid-1960s as part of a deliberate effort to modernise and broaden the company’s product range. Recognising a growing appetite among Swedish consumers for rustic, tactile home decoration, Ystad-Metall’s management invested heavily in a new cast iron line and engaged several designers to bring fresh perspectives to the material. The series sat alongside a parallel relaunch of pewter objects, and both ranges were surface-treated to give an aged, antique appearance. The timing proved astute: the coarse texture and weighty presence of cast iron fitted perfectly into the interior design sensibility of the late 1960s, and the Antikjärn pieces found a loyal following.

The most widely recognised pieces from the series are the cast iron wall plaques — particularly those by Ulla Fogelklou-Skogh featuring star sign motifs, and the antique figurative scenes by Danish designer Rolf Grenov — which appear regularly at auction. Functional objects from the series, such as this candleholder, are considerably rarer and represent some of the most sought-after pieces for collectors of Swedish mid-century decorative metalwork.

Ulla Fogelklou-Skogh

Ulla Fogelklou-Skogh was a Swedish designer and artist who worked extensively in metal and applied arts. She contributed several designs to the Antikjärn series, most notably her Stjärnbilder (Star Signs) wall plaques — a set of cast iron plates featuring zodiac motifs that became among the most recognisable products in Ystad-Metall’s catalogue. Her work is characterised by a confident, graphic sensibility and a willingness to engage with both decorative and functional form. Her bronze sundials Ikaros and Daidalos, originally designed in 1937, were later recast by Ystad-Metall — a testament to the enduring quality of her work.

This candleholder represents a less frequently seen aspect of her output for Ystad-Metall: a three-dimensional functional object rather than a wall-mounted relief, and one that demonstrates her ability to work with the raw expressiveness of cast iron at its most sculptural.

The condition of this piece is excellent throughout. The surface is even and consistent in colour and appearance, with no chips, cracks, abrasions, or discolouration. Any apparent edge variation visible in photographs is the result of studio lighting rather than wear to the piece itself.