Polykandelon (hanging lamp holder)
Polykandelon (hanging lamp holder)

On view

European Art

Polykandelon (hanging lamp holder),

6th–7th century

Byzantine

Early Byzantine, ca. 330–842
2005-15 a-e

Liturgy in the Byzantine Empire


With the rise of Christianity in the fourth century CE, devotional objects were crafted for the liturgical rites and spiritual practices of the Byzantine Empire, anchored in present-day Istanbul. As the Emperor Justinian I (482–565) accumulated wealth, territory, and power, theologians heightened the drama and spectacle of the liturgy to signal the central role of religion and faith in maintaining imperial order and expressing authority. To enhance the spiritual atmosphere when the sacramental Eucharist was presented to worshippers as the body of Christ, the Byzantine liturgy accommodated expansive and multisensory religious processions and rites. Censers filled with aromatic incense perfumed the church, and oil lamps and candles illuminated metal objects and gilded devotional images. Theologians generated analogies between the splendor and value of the luxurious materials used to create devotional objects and the purity of Christ. Images of the cross became a ubiquitous sign of Christ’s martyrdom and its promise of salvation for the faithful.

Information

Title
Polykandelon (hanging lamp holder)
Dates

6th–7th century

Medium
Bronze
Dimensions
assembled h. 48 cm (18 7/8 in.) disk: th. 0.3 cm; maximum diam. 28.8 cm (1/8 x 11 5/16 in.) chains: l. (maximum) 33.7 cm (13 1/4 in.) lower plaques: 10.3 x 2 cm (4 1/16 x 13/16 in.) upper plaques: 8.8 x 2 cm (3 7/16 x 3/4 in.) hook: l. 10. 4 cm (4 1/8 in.) canopy: 5.5 x 5.2 cm (2 3/16 x 2 1/16 in.) hook and canopy: l. 15.5 cm (6 1/8 in.)
Credit Line
Museum purchase, Fowler McCormick, Class of 1921, Fund, and matching funds provided by the Program in Hellenic Studies with the support of the Stanley J. Seeger Hellenic Fund
Object Number
2005-15 a-e
Place Made

Asia Minor

Period
Byzantine
Type
lamp holders, metalwork
Materials
bronze
Subject
Maltese crosses, openwork, mythical or legendary beings, circles (plane figures)

Formerly in the Richard Wagner collection, Barnstable, MA; purchased from Fortuna Fine Arts, Ltd, New York, 2005.

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