Cleveland Museum of Art

Candelabrum

Date

100–1 BCE

Medium

bronze

Culture

Italy, Roman

Department

Greek and Roman Art

Institution

Cleveland Museum of Art

This bronze is a candelabrum, or ancient lamp stand. A long, fluted column extends from a base on lion or panther paw feet, with ivy leaves between. Atop the column sits a miniature bronze krater, a mixing vessel for wine, with a circular top which supports a separately made lamp. Wealthy Romans would light their homes with bronze oil lamps. The small, portable lamps would be placed on lampstands like this one to light larger spaces. This lamp and stand were not found together, but illustrate how they would have been used in antiquity.

The authoritative record is held by Cleveland Museum of Art. LinkedCulture surfaces this object and its connections; it does not alter institutional metadata.