DOI Heft:
Część II. Sztuka starożytna / Part II. Ancient Art
DOI Artikel:Górecki, Tomasz: Ręczne (przenośne) candelabrum z bizantyńskiego kościoła w Athribis w Egipcie
DOI Seite / Zitierlink: https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.45362#0149
148
Ancient Art
an easy task - it was enough to extinguish the flame. The “guardian” of the light (subdeacon?)
putting out successive lamps had to light his way inside the church.20 In a closed interior, mov-
ing down the church aisles to either light the chandeliers before the morning prayer or to put
the out after the service, one could easily carry a small candelabrum with a burning candle or
lamp without the risk of it being put out by accident (fig. 5).21
Many indications suggest that the candelabrum was used as a portable device. It was less
universal than a device with base and could not have been left standing, if the situation required
it, but it was sufficiently functional to have served its role. At the present stage of research it
cannot be determined whether this small candelabrum was cast in this form or whether it was
adapted from a bigger light stand.
Translated by Iwona Zych
20 Not much is known about persons lighting and putting out the lamps (or candles) in churches, how
this was done and what tools were used for the purpose. A i2th-centuiy Byzantine miniature depicts a subdeacon (?)
taking down lamps hanging under an architrave or ceiling most probably in order to top them up with oil, see Maria
Evangelatou, “Pursuing Salvation through a Body of Parchment: Books and Their Significance in the Illustrated
Homilies of Iakobos of Kokkinobaphos,” Mediaeval Studies, vol. 68 (2006), pp. 239-84, fig. ib.
21 There is no certainty in this case whether the interior of a building was being lighted, because candles
were more expensive and served more ceremonial functions (e.g., in processions) and were seldom used for private
purposes. See Bouras, Parani, Lighting..., op. cit., p. 1. Practical considerations argue in favor of the oil lamp, which
was cheaper in use, as the chief source of light.
Ancient Art
an easy task - it was enough to extinguish the flame. The “guardian” of the light (subdeacon?)
putting out successive lamps had to light his way inside the church.20 In a closed interior, mov-
ing down the church aisles to either light the chandeliers before the morning prayer or to put
the out after the service, one could easily carry a small candelabrum with a burning candle or
lamp without the risk of it being put out by accident (fig. 5).21
Many indications suggest that the candelabrum was used as a portable device. It was less
universal than a device with base and could not have been left standing, if the situation required
it, but it was sufficiently functional to have served its role. At the present stage of research it
cannot be determined whether this small candelabrum was cast in this form or whether it was
adapted from a bigger light stand.
Translated by Iwona Zych
20 Not much is known about persons lighting and putting out the lamps (or candles) in churches, how
this was done and what tools were used for the purpose. A i2th-centuiy Byzantine miniature depicts a subdeacon (?)
taking down lamps hanging under an architrave or ceiling most probably in order to top them up with oil, see Maria
Evangelatou, “Pursuing Salvation through a Body of Parchment: Books and Their Significance in the Illustrated
Homilies of Iakobos of Kokkinobaphos,” Mediaeval Studies, vol. 68 (2006), pp. 239-84, fig. ib.
21 There is no certainty in this case whether the interior of a building was being lighted, because candles
were more expensive and served more ceremonial functions (e.g., in processions) and were seldom used for private
purposes. See Bouras, Parani, Lighting..., op. cit., p. 1. Practical considerations argue in favor of the oil lamp, which
was cheaper in use, as the chief source of light.