A candelabra (plural candelabras) or candelabrum (plural candelabra or candelabrums) is a candle holder with multiple arms.[1] [2] [3] Candelabras can be used to describe a variety of candle holders including chandeliers, however, candelabras can also be distinguished as branched candle holders that are placed on a surface such as the floor, stand, or tabletop, unlike chandeliers which are hung from the ceiling.[4]
The Romans used the term to describe a form of ornamental lighting, which may be a tall stand that supports a lamp. In Judaism, the menorah and hanukkiah are special kinds of candelabras. Candelabras are also found in churches, some of which may be used in church ceremonies such as Tenebrae, and in certain Eastern Catholic and Eastern Orthodox Church liturgy as the dikirion and trikirion. Candelabras in the form of branched candlesticks also became popular in homes as decorative lighting.
In modern times, electricity has relegated candleholders to decorative use, interior designers nevertheless continue to model light fixtures and lighting accessories after candelabra and candlesticks. Accordingly, the term candelabra is commonly used to describe small light bulbs used in chandeliers and other lighting fixtures made for decoration as well as lighting.
The first known use of candelabra in English was in 1776,[5] and candelabrum in 1811.[6] The word came from Latin, in which candēlābrum (candela, candle, -b(a) rum, holder), means a "candlestick”. Candalabrum is the singular form and candēlābra is the plural. ultimately deriving from candēla, meaning "candle".[5]
While candelabra is originally the plural form of candelabrum, due to changes in English usage over time, candelabra is now popularly used as the singular form, with candelabras more frequently the plural form.[7]
Candelabra is a form of candlestick, although candlestick is now often defined as an object that holds a candle,[8] [9] while candelabra can be defined as a branched holder that supports multiple candles.[3] [10] Candelabra has been used to describe all branched candle holders, including chandelier, but a distinction can be made between a candelabra and a chandelier, with the candelabra being a candle holder placed on a surface, while the chandelier is hung from the ceiling.
Candelabra was known to have been used in the ancient world. A notable example is the seven-armed candelabra or menorah, mentioned in the Hebrew Bible with instruction on its creation to Moses.[11] The menorah is depicted in the Arch of Titus following the capture of Jerusalem. The menorah has since become a symbol of Judaism and an Emblem of Israel, as well as serving as a model of seven-armed candelabras used in medieval Christian churches. A bronze candelabrum was made by Callimachus for the Erechtheion in Athens, to carry the lamp sacred to Athena. In this case it is possible the lamp was suspended.
While candelabra or candelabrum is now often used to mean a branched candle holder, the term has been used to describe a variety of lighting devices. A candelabra may describe a tall stand that supports a lamp.[12] [13] The Roman candelabra may consist of a stalk or reed, the upper part moulded with projecting feature to carry lights at the top, and a base resting on three lions' or griffins' feet. The origin of the term, which means a candlestick, suggests that Roman candelabra may have a disk with a spike on top to carry a wax or tallow candle (Latin: candela or Latin: funalia). Candelabras, however, can have a disk at the top to carry a lamp, and sometimes there was a hollow cup, in which resinous woods were burnt.
The Roman candelabras used in public building can be of significant size, and they may have bulky supports in stone or marble, of which many examples were found in the Latin: [[thermae]]. These consisted of a base, often triangular, and of similar design to the small sacrificial altars, and a shaft either richly moulded or carved with the acanthus plant and crowned with a large cup or basin. Examples of the latter excavated from Hadrian's Villa are now found in the Vatican Museums. Simpler tall slender candelabras with three feet were used in a domestic setting in Etruscan and Roman periods. These may be made of wood, but many made of bronze were excavated in Herculaneum and Pompeii.[14] [13] Other types of candelabras also existed in Roman times; these may consist of a figure supporting one or two branches with plates for lamps, or a type that may be placed on a table, with a pillar that has branches from which lights are suspended.
The Roman examples seem to have served as models for many of the candelabra in the churches in Italy. Liturgical services were performed with the use of candlelight, and candelabras with prickets may be used to hold the candles in churches. In the 4th century, Pope Sylvester I presented to churches with brass candelabras inlaid with silver.[15] Seven-armed candelabras, mentioned in the Bible, were also be used in various churches, including the Eastern Orthodox Church.[16] In some religious ceremonies, candelabras may be used.
Candelabras in the form of branched candle holders were also used in the homes of wealthy. Good wax candles were expensive in the early period, while tallow candles made of animal fat were smelly, smokey and burned quickly, candle holders were therefore rare in ordinary households.[17]
By the 17th century in France, candelabra was defined by César-Pierre Richelet as "a large room candlestick which has several branches", although candelabras existed in other forms.[18] The candelabras may be placed on a fireplace mantel, table, guéridon, and torchère, or if large, on the floor. In England in the early 18th century, candelabras may be used interchangeably with a number of terms, such as branches, chandeliers, lustres, girandoles and wall-lights.[19] Girandoles were a form of candelabras with crystals in the 17th century, but were sold as candelabras in England by the end of the 17th century.[20] Candelabras became popular in the 18th century. Two-branched candelabras were then the most common, and some designs allowed the branches to be detached leaving a single-armed candlestick. By the 19th century, silver candelabras with multiple branches were often used together with elaborate centerpieces on dinner tables.[21]
In the United States and Canada, the word candelabra is used to refer to radio masts and towers with multiple transmission antennas. Sutro Tower in San Francisco and John Hancock Center in Chicago are examples of such structures.[22] Baltimore's TV stations, WMAR-TV, WBAL-TV, and WJZ-TV in 1959 built the world’s first three-antenna candelabra tower, 730 feet tall. Other examples include the Mount Royal Candelabra in Montreal, the KXTV/KOVR/KCRA Tower, KSMO Candelabra Tower, KMBC/KCWE Candelabra Tower, the Madison Community Candelabra Tower in Madison.