The cylindrical low candlestick holder is decorated with small white feathers, modeled naturalistically in relief, which wrap around it starting from the base, standing out against the satin gold background. Two candlesticks of this type are illustrated in Domus, flanking a sculpture depicting a rooster (in the museum collection, inventory nos. 3560, 3561, 3363), whose dense plumage was the source of inspiration for the decoration. The three pieces were therefore also intended to be displayed together, as a centerpiece or furnishings for consoles.
Presented at the 1937 Paris decorative arts exhibition, this candlestick is among the first documented examples of Gariboldi’s collaboration with the Richard-Ginori factory in Doccia. Previously, the designer’s name had appeared only in connection with earthenware or stoneware (produced at the S. Cristoforo factory), but even in these early works Gariboldi demonstrates a remarkable sensitivity to the peculiarities of porcelain, evident in the lifelike rendering of the relief feathers’ movement, slightly tousled, which enhances the fineness and brightness of the material.
