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Lot Essay
A virtually identical candlestick is illustrated in Ronald Michaelis, Old Domestic Base-Metal Candlesticks, 1978, fig.4. Described by Ronald Michaelis as 'probably one of the earliest bronze specimens of a tripod pricket in existence', this is an extremely rare survival from the period. Michaelis conjectures that it might be Coptic 4th/5th Century and believes the markings under the base were scratched into the mould of the bronze. The format of the initials in the triad is comparable to marks more commonly found on English mortars of the medieval period.
A series of candlesticks with similar wavy shaped triangular bases but with pierced and elaborate decoration are illustrated in Falke and Meyer, Romanische Lueuchter und Gefabe, Berlin 1935, reprinted 1983. Figure 7 has the most similar shaped base, a candlestick attributed to the 11th Century.
A series of candlesticks with similar wavy shaped triangular bases but with pierced and elaborate decoration are illustrated in Falke and Meyer, Romanische Lueuchter und Gefabe, Berlin 1935, reprinted 1983. Figure 7 has the most similar shaped base, a candlestick attributed to the 11th Century.