Zwiesel Glas Signum

The bowl and the tealight holder do different jobs. The 341 mm bowl is wide and shallow and works above all as a centrepiece: fruit, nuts, a single flower floating on water, or simply empty as a surface where the light from above gathers. For a long table, one bowl in the middle is enough.

The 137 mm tealight holder takes a tealight or a small pillar candle and comes into its own in numbers. Three in a row, or three shades mixed together, create more atmosphere than one large piece. Choose clear if you want to see the flame sharply, and a smokey shade for a softer glow.

Place a tealight holder on a coaster or a firm surface, because the base gets warm when the candle burns for a long time. Use a tealight in a metal cup; loose candle wax in the base is hard to remove without scratching the glass.

On a bar they sit best just outside the working area, where they give light without getting in the way. The bowl earns its place there for citrus slices or garnishes, as long as you empty it regularly.

Signum is mouth-blown, which means every piece has small differences in wall thickness. That is part of the craft, not a flaw. The thickness makes the glass fairly robust, but it is still glass: let a tealight holder cool down before you wash it.

Wash by hand in lukewarm water. Remove candle residue by standing the glass in warm water until the wax loosens, never by scraping with anything hard.

The drinking glasses from the same brand are at Zwiesel Glas. If you are after more light on the table or at the bar, have a look at bar lighting and at the coasters that go underneath. For the same smokey shades in glassware you actually drink from there are the coloured glasses, and for small dishes the amuse-bouche glasses. What you pour alongside them, and what you make it with, you will find under cocktails and bar tools.