Rights Holder: Suffolk County Council
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Unique ID: SF-74624E
Object type certainty: Certain
Workflow
status: Awaiting validation
An almost complete cast copper-alloy candle holder dating to the Medieval period, probably c. 1200-1400. The candle holder takes the form of a tripod, with a broadly triangular plan when viewed from above. Projecting from the central section-which demonstrates a circular aperture at its midpoint, two decorative parallel transverse grooves on each side and a domed underside, are zoomorphic elements designed to represent the head, neck and front leg of an uncertain animal (possibly a deer) which cumulatively make up the feet of the tripod. Only one of these feet is complete, with another missing its 'leg' element, and the third heavily bent inwards with its head broken away from its body in an irregular truncation (but the latter still extant). Preserved in fair condition with an even green patina, the tripod would originally have stood c. 61.19mm high at the highest point of the surviving zoomorphic projections, c. 49.68mm wide, c. 8.54mm thick at the midpoint of the body and c. 6.14mm thick at the midpoint of each zoomorphic projection. It weighs 59.22g.
Candle holders of this form are rare finds in Britain, with only four broadly similar examples recorded via the PAS database (see SUR-0CB5E9, IOW-4B17B4, WAW-301351 and SUSS-5E2F87- the latter being most similar to this example). An identical example is published by Gomez de Soto and Mulder (2012, see p. 6, fig. 3) as their Geraardsbergen type.
Reference: J. Gomez de Soto, G. de Mulder, Ni du Hallstatt, ni de La Tène, mais du Moyen Âge, ou les pièges de la stylistique. Le cerf en bronze de Durtal, la « fibule à masques » ou anse d'Angers, le trépied à protomés zoomorphes de Nantes, le mors de Saint-Hilaire-du-Bois. Revue archéologique de l'Ouest 29, 2012, 133-144.
This is a find of note and has been designated: Include in MedArch
Class: Geraardsbergen type
Subsequent action after recording: Returned to finder
Broad period: MEDIEVAL
Period from: MEDIEVAL
Period to: MEDIEVAL
Date from: Circa AD 1200
Date to: Circa AD 1400
Quantity: 1
Height: 61.19 mm
Width: 49.68 mm
Thickness: 8.54 mm
Weight: 59.22 g
Date(s) of discovery: Thursday 13th July 2017
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Primary material: Copper alloy
Manufacture method: Cast
Completeness: Incomplete
Author | Publication Year | Title | Publication Place | Publisher | Pages | Reference | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Gomez de Soto, J. and de Mulder, G. | 2012 | Ni du Hallstatt, ni de La Tène, mais du Moyen Âge, ou les pièges de la stylistique. Le cerf en bronze de Durtal, la « fibule à masques » ou anse d'Angers, le trépied à protomés zoomorphes de Nantes, le mors de Saint-Hilaire-du-Bois | Rennes | l'Association pour la Diffusion des Recherches archéologiques dans l'Ouest de la France |