Description

Unglazed orange-brown clay candelabrum sculpture in the shape of a spherical tower with church and village scenes. Details are painted in white, dark brown, and orange-brown. The top of the tower has five candle holders: the centre holder is set in the back of a forward facing kneeling cow with two candle holders on each flank and an additional two on arms on the sides. Below this, three ridges around the circumference of the tower have church and village scenes consisting of standing modelled figures and animals with cut out arch, rectangular, and triangular windows. On the top ridge, below the cow, is a large cut-out arch window with eight birds perched on the upper rim. Standing on the sill of the window are three standing figures, the centre figure has a cross on his robes; two additional figures stand outside the window on a ledge. The middle and bottom ridges have village scenes with people, goats?, donkeys, and small rectangular and triangular windows. In the base (17 cm diameter) of the tower is a large cut out arch with a base floor holding a nativity scene: three standing figures wearing crosses on their robes, two kneeling fawn-like spotted ungulates and a central reclining cradle with figure. The tower walls are decorated with painted designs of plants, flowers, stripes, dots and grids. The back of the tower has a C-shaped handle.