Ystad Metall

In the medieval centre of Ystad, a small town on the southern coast of Sweden, a metal workshop that began as Ystads Metallindustri grew into one of the country's best-known makers of brass, pewter and wrought-iron homewares. Known to collectors as Ystad Metall or Ystad-Metall, it was founded in 1919 and its most collected pieces, candlesticks above all, date from the 1930s to the 1960s.

The firm was led in its early decades by Idoff Göransson and his partner Ester Rockström, and it found its footing by following the modern taste of the 1920s and 1930s. Pewter, which had fallen out of fashion, returned to Swedish homes partly through its efforts, and its bronze, brass and pewter objects were shown at the large international exhibitions of the 1930s. Young artists were brought in to draw for the workshop, among them Oscar Antonsson, Anna Thulin, Hugo Gehlin and Stig Blomberg.

The best-known pre-war model is the Liljan candlestick by the sculptor Ivar Ålenius Björk, first shown at the 1939 World's Fair in New York and a steady seller for the company afterwards. Early examples are stamped with the initials IÅB together with the Ystad Metall name, a detail that helps collectors tell originals from later copies. Skultuna Messingsbruk now produces a new edition of the design in cooperation with the designer's family.

After the Second World War the character of the output changed. Ownership shifted, production became more industrial, and designers such as Gunnar Ander, Walter Andersson and Hans Lind turned Ystad Metall into a leading Swedish maker of metal home furnishings. Ander's slender candlesticks and candelabra, in brass or wrought iron and often fitted with coloured glass, defined the look of the 1950s and 1960s output. The workshop also made trays, umbrella stands, ashtrays, lamps, fire tools and small decorative animals, and its products were exported widely, reportedly through showrooms in Chicago and New York.

The independent history of the company is usually taken to end in 1969, when it is said to have been taken over by Scandia Present. Ystad Metall pieces remain easy to find at auctions and with dealers today, but identification takes some care. Many items carry a company stamp, some also bear designers' initials such as GA, and a number of models, including several animal-shaped candlesticks, are reported to be unmarked, so form, material and construction are often the best guide.