Pair of exceptional Barovier & Toso candleholders, Italy, 1938

An extraordinarily rare pair of Murano glass candleholders designed by Ercole Barovier and executed by Barovier & Toso in 1938. These sculptural pieces display all the hallmarks of Barovier’s most sought-after pre-war production: dense pulegoso glass, richly infused with suspended gold inclusions, and perfectly balanced, weighty forms that feel as precious as carved stone. Each candleholder weighs approximately 1.5 kg, a testament to the remarkable thickness and mastery of the glass.

The bodies, generously rounded and tactile, are enveloped in a constellation of golden bubbles, creating a luminous internal landscape that glows from within. The handles, executed with the same technical prowess, reveal a textured, frosted effect that contrasts beautifully with the polished dome.

The original brass bobeches, with their elegant flared petal-shaped openings, retain a magnificent, naturally aged patina that adds depth, authenticity and an unmistakable sense of time. Together with the glass, the combination is both poetic and powerful — an object that is not only decorative but profoundly historic.