{"meta":{"version":"2.1","_links":{"self":{"href":"https://api.vam.ac.uk/v2/object/O119394"},"collection_page":{"href":"https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O119394/"}},"images":{"_primary_thumbnail":"https://framemark.vam.ac.uk/collections/2008BR8756/full/!100,100/0/default.jpg","_iiif_image":"https://framemark.vam.ac.uk/collections/2008BR8756/","_alt_iiif_image":[],"imageResolution":"high","_images_meta":[{"assetRef":"2008BR8756","copyright":"© Victoria and Albert Museum, London","sensitiveImage":false},{"assetRef":"2009CD7489","copyright":"© Victoria and Albert Museum, London","sensitiveImage":false},{"assetRef":"2018KY1966","copyright":"© Victoria and Albert Museum, London","sensitiveImage":false}]},"see_also":{"_iiif_pres":"https://iiif.vam.ac.uk/collections/O119394/manifest.json","_alt_iiif_pres":[]}},"record":{"systemNumber":"O119394","accessionNumber":"M.50-1955","objectType":"Candlestick","titles":[],"summaryDescription":"This candlestick highlights a fashion in the 12th and 13th centuries for designs of beasts and monsters on domestic objects. It represents a siren, a mythical creature which in the medieval period was depicted either as half woman, half bird or as half woman, half fish. This siren combines the two variations. It has the wings of a bird and the tail of a fish. Sirens were believed to tempt sailors into the sea with their beautiful song, only to let them drown in the depths of the ocean. This story was used to remind Christians that if they are enticed by the beauty of material things they may meet disaster.","physicalDescription":"Bronze candlestick decorated with the figure of a siren grasping in each hand a spray which trails down her back. The figure rests on two clawed feet, with wings folded into her body. Her fish tail fans upwards. The base of the candlestick rests upon the creature's back amid foliate decoration. The cup of the pricket has four deep lobes with which to catch falling wax.","artistMakerPerson":[{"name":{"text":"Unknown","id":"A1848"},"association":{"text":"","id":""},"note":""}],"artistMakerOrganisations":[],"artistMakerPeople":[],"materials":[{"text":"bronze","id":"AAT10957"}],"techniques":[{"text":"casting","id":"AAT53104"}],"materialsAndTechniques":"Bronze, cast","categories":[{"text":"Metalwork","id":"THES48920"},{"text":"Lighting","id":"THES48925"}],"styles":[],"collectionCode":{"text":"MET","id":"THES48599"},"images":["2008BR8756","2009CD7489","2018KY1966"],"imageResolution":"high","galleryLocations":[{"current":{"text":"8 (VA)","id":"THES49714"},"free":"","case":"CA10","shelf":"","box":""}],"partTypes":[[{"text":"Candlestick","id":""}]],"contentWarnings":[{"apprise":"","note":""}],"placesOfOrigin":[{"place":{"text":"Lorraine","id":"x28986"},"association":{"text":"made","id":"x28654"},"note":"possibly"}],"productionDates":[{"date":{"text":"1150-1200","earliest":"1150-01-01","latest":"1200-12-31"},"association":{"text":"made","id":"x28654"},"note":""}],"associatedObjects":[],"creditLine":"Given by Dr W. L. Hildburgh","dimensions":[{"dimension":"Height","value":"18.9","unit":"cm","qualifier":"","date":{"text":"","earliest":null,"latest":null},"part":"","note":""},{"dimension":"Width","value":"6.1","unit":"cm","qualifier":"","date":{"text":"","earliest":null,"latest":null},"part":"","note":""},{"dimension":"Depth","value":"10.5","unit":"cm","qualifier":"","date":{"text":"","earliest":null,"latest":null},"part":"","note":""},{"dimension":"Weight","value":"0.58","unit":"kg","qualifier":"","date":{"text":"","earliest":null,"latest":null},"part":"","note":""}],"dimensionsNote":"Measured for the Medieval and Renaissance Galleries","marksAndInscriptions":[],"objectHistory":"Hildburgh Bequest. Former Loan no.5199.\n\nHistorical significance: This object is made from base metal, which was a popular material for candlesticks in the medieval period. Its pricket demonstrates how the medieval candlestick functioned; candle holders or sockets did not come into use until the 13th century. The design of this candlestick is in keeping with an apparent fashion at this time for representing animals and fantastical creatures on candlesticks.\r\n\r\nSirens are mythical creatures said to be half woman, half bird. These creatures originated from ancient sources such as Homer's Odyssey, which greatly influenced medieval depictions and descriptions of the creatures. Classical depictions always showed the siren as part woman, part bird. In the early medieval period however, some bestiaries decribed the creature as half human and half fish as sirens were said to live in the sea. By the central middle ages, some depictions of the siren included the torso of a woman, the wings of a bird and the tail of a fish. It is this hybrid that we see here.\r\n\r\nThe siren was popular for its exoticism and was often linked with the centaur (half man half horse). Depictions of the creature could also have a moral significance. Sirens were believed to tempt sailors into the sea with their beautiful song, only to let them drown. Thus the creatures reminded medieval christians that those who are preoccupied by beauty and material things may eventually meet disaster.","historicalContext":"Medieval candlesticks were used both in the home and during religious ceremony to provide light. The candle was secured to its holder using a pricket or spike to impale the candle and hold it in place. Candlesticks were most commonly made from base metals during this period.","briefDescription":"Bronze candlestick in the form of a siren, France (possibly Lorraine), second half 12th century","bibliographicReferences":[{"reference":{"text":"","id":""},"details":"","free":"Seavers, Stephanie, \"The Art of Illumination: Medieval Candlesticks and Manuscript Art\", <u>The Journal of the Antique Metalware Society</u>, Vol. 15, June 2007, ISSN. 1359124X, p. 30,  ill.  "}],"production":"","productionType":{"text":"","id":""},"contentDescription":"","contentPlaces":[],"associatedPlaces":[],"contentPerson":[],"associatedPerson":[],"contentOrganisations":[],"associatedOrganisations":[],"contentPeople":[],"associatedPeople":[],"contentEvents":[],"associatedEvents":[],"contentOthers":[{"text":"sirens (mythological creatures)","id":"x38825"}],"contentConcepts":[],"contentLiteraryRefs":[],"galleryLabels":[{"text":"Mermaid grasping a spray which trails over her back. (France- Lorraine)","date":{"text":"2005","earliest":"2005-01-01","latest":"2005-12-31"}}],"partNumbers":["M.50-1955"],"accessionNumberNum":"50","accessionNumberPrefix":"M","accessionYear":1955,"otherNumbers":[],"copyNumber":"","aspects":["WHOLE"],"assets":["2019LN5084","2019LT6291","2019LU4600"],"recordModificationDate":"2025-04-08","recordCreationDate":"2005-12-06","availableToBook":false}}