CANDELA´BRUM
CANDELA´BRUM (λυχνεῖον, λυχνίον, λύχνιον, λυχνία) was originally a candlestick, but was afterwards used to support lamps (whence also called lychnuchus, λυχνοῦχος), in which signification it most commonly occurs. The candelabra of this kind were usually made to stand upon the ground, and were of a considerable height. The most common kind were made of wood (Cic. ad Q. Fr. 3.7; Mart. 14.44; Petron. 95; Athen. 15.700); but those which have been found in Herculaneum and Pompeii are mostly of bronze. Sometimes they were made of the more precious metals (silver, Dig. 34, tit. 2, s. 19.8) and adorned with jewels, as was the one which Antiochus intended to dedicate to Jupiter Capitolinus (Cic. Ver. 4.28, 64, 65; cf. ib. 2.74, 183, “candelabra aenea,” and 4.26, 60). In the temples of the gods and palaces there were frequently large candelabra made of marble, and fastened to the ground. |
| Marble Candelabrum in the Vatican. (Visconti, vol. iv., tav. 5.) |
There is a great resemblance in the general plan and appearance of most of the candelabra which have been found. They usually consist of three parts:--(1) the foot (βάσις); (2) the shaft or stem (καυλός); (3) the plinth or tray (δισκός), large enough for a lamp to stand on, or with a socket to receive a wax candle. The foot usually consists of three lions' or griffins' feet, ornamented with leaves; and the shaft, which is either plain or fluted, generally ends in a kind of capital, on which the tray rests for supporting the lamp. Sometimes we find a figure between the capital and the tray, as is seen in the candelabrum on the right hand in the annexed woodcut, which is taken from the Museo Borbonico (iv. pl. 57), and represents a candelabrum found in Pompeii. The one on the left hand is also a representation of a candelabrum found in
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| Pompeian Candelabra. |
The best candelabra were made at Aegina and Tarentum (Plin. Nat. 34.11). There were also Corinthian candelabra (Mart. 14.43). The Etruscan bronze candelabra were celebrated in antiquity, and are mentioned even in the time of Pericles by the Athenian poet Pherecrates (Athen. 15.700 c).
There was another kind of candelabrum, entirely different from those which have been described, which did not stand upon the ground, but was placed upon the table. Such candelabra sometimes consist of a figure supporting a lamp (Mus. Borb. vii. pl. 15), or of a figure, by the side of which the shaft is placed with two branches, each of which terminates in a flat disc, [p. 1.353]upon which a lamp was placed. A candelabrum of the latter kind is given in the annexed drawing
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| Etruscan Candelabrum. (Dennis, Etruria, i. p. lxxv.) |
（Mus. Borb. iv. pl. 59). The stem is formed of a liliaceous plant; and at the base is a mass
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| Candelabrum from Pompeii. |
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| Candelabrum from Pompeii. |
The original, including the stand, is three feet high. The pillar is not placed in the centre, but at one end of the plinth, which is the case in almost every candelabrum of this description yet found. The plinth is inlaid in imitation of a vine, the leaves of which are of silver, the stem and fruit of bright bronze. On one side is an altar with wood and fire upon it; and on the other a Bacchus riding on a tiger. The candelabrarii, or makers of candelabra, are mentioned in inscriptions (Orelli, Inscr. 4157). (Becker-Göll, Gallus, ii. p. 398 seq.）
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