Archaic II

Bronze lamp holder

This form of lamp holder was probably introduced by the Phoenicians, and it remained prevalent in Cyprus from about the eighth to the sixth century B.C. The lowermost cylinder would have been set on a wooden shaft, the lamp itself would have rested on the ring at the top. Representing the height of luxury, an ivory stand of the eighth century B.C. was found at Salamis on Cyprus. H. 12 11/16 in. (32.2 cm)

Date

599 - 500 BC

Accession No.

74.51.5641

Collection

Metropolitan Museum of Art

Provenance

References

Myres, John L. 1914. Handbook of the Cesnola Collection of Antiquities from Cyprus. no. 4966, New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art.Richter, Gisela M. A. 1915. Greek, Etruscan and Roman Bronzes. no. 1271, pp. 366-37, New York: Gilliss Press.Raubitschek, Isabelle K. 1978. "Cypriot Bronze Lampstands in the Cesnola Collection of the Stanford University Museum of Art." The Proceedings of the Xth International Congress of Classical Archaeology : Ankara-İzmir, 23-30/IX/1973. pp. 699, 701 n. 7, pl. 215, 1, Ankara: Turk Tarih Kurumu Basimeri.Karageorghis, Vassos, Joan Mertens, and Marice E. Rose. 2000. Ancient Art from Cyprus: The Cesnola Collection in The Metropolitan Museum of Art. no. 281, pp. 174-75, New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art.