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Lot Essay
PUBLISHED:
M. Mundell Mango, 'The Significance of Byzantine Copper Objects', Thymiama ste mneme tes Laskarina Mpoura, Athens, 1994, pp. 221-227, pls 1176-7.
S. Daussy, L'église, lieu de performances : in locis competentibus, Paris, 2016, front cover.
Related openwork tinned bronze lamps would have been used in Byzantine churches as common utilitarian objects, however, it is very unusual for them to be embellished with a decorative inscription, such as this one. Incised in double-stroke lettering, typical of this period, the inscription reads 'CΩΤΕΡ ΠΑΡΑCΧΟΥ ΛΥCΥΝ ΤΩΝ ΩΦΕΛΗΜΑΤΩΝ', 'Saviour, grant release from sins', cf. M. Mundell Mango, op. cit., p. 224. The elaborate cruciform openwork decoration would have allowed light from the burning wick to stream out in all directions, creating a dazzling effect.
M. Mundell Mango, 'The Significance of Byzantine Copper Objects', Thymiama ste mneme tes Laskarina Mpoura, Athens, 1994, pp. 221-227, pls 1176-7.
S. Daussy, L'église, lieu de performances : in locis competentibus, Paris, 2016, front cover.
Related openwork tinned bronze lamps would have been used in Byzantine churches as common utilitarian objects, however, it is very unusual for them to be embellished with a decorative inscription, such as this one. Incised in double-stroke lettering, typical of this period, the inscription reads 'CΩΤΕΡ ΠΑΡΑCΧΟΥ ΛΥCΥΝ ΤΩΝ ΩΦΕΛΗΜΑΤΩΝ', 'Saviour, grant release from sins', cf. M. Mundell Mango, op. cit., p. 224. The elaborate cruciform openwork decoration would have allowed light from the burning wick to stream out in all directions, creating a dazzling effect.