A BYZANTINE BRONZE BRACKET FOR A HANGING LAMP OR POLYCANDELON, 5TH-7TH CENTURY AD

A Byzantine bronze support or bracket for a hanging lamp, probably a polycandelon from a church or other such substantial building. The bracket is in the shape of a twisting vine with the leaves made in open work to serve as structural support to support a heavy lamp. The suspension hook at the end was for the chain of the lamp as well as a protrusion, showing traces of solder at the top which might have had a spike to hold an oil lamp. It is made from a single casting and the surfaces are burnished.
Bronze Byzantine 5/7th.c.AD.
Length: 48.5 cm.

PROVENANCE
Private collection, Germany before 1990.