LOT 0140

Roman Military Bronze Folding Campaign Chandelier

1ST-2ND CENTURY A.D.

21 3/8 in. (1.6 kg, 54.2 cm wide).

Consisting of six vertical supports with hook-shaped terminals, connected to a circular top plate via ring joints and to a circular bottom plate by paired double hooks, attached to the supports with rivets; the top circular plate linked to the bottom one by a sturdy element terminating in a hook at the lower end and a round loop at the top, where the main suspension hook for the chandelier is attached; a small chain link attached to the bottom circular plate.

UK private collection assembled 1970s-1990s, and thence to the liquidated estate of the above.

This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate no.13446-263437.

Cf. for a chandelier with a similar suspension system, Bailey, D.M., A Catalogue of the Lamps in the British Museum, IV. Lamps of Metal and Stone, and Lampstands, London, 1996, no.Q3665.

A chandelier like this (candelabrum, λυχνίον, λαμπτήρ, φανός) was designed for easy transport and was most probably created to be used in military activities. These field chandeliers featured platforms fitted with lamp supports, which branched out into several arms from which the lamps were hung. They were highly portable and collapsible, designed to be easily dismantled and reassembled as needed.