Byzantine Era Metal Lighting Devices from the Troy Museum
Oğuz KoçyiğitÇanakkale Museum of Troy, which focuses on the preservation and display of the cultural heritage of the Çanakkale region, was called Troad in antiquity and Hellespont in the Byzantine era and contains a considerable number of Byzantine artifacts. An important part of these artifacts is Byzantine lighting devices. There is a considerable number of Byzantine artifacts in this museum and an important group of these are Byzantine lighting devices. While a small group of them consists of terracotta, the majority are metal works and most of these lighting devices belong to the early Byzantine period. Of these metal objects, which are in the Troy Museum collection and whose total number is twenty-three, fourteen of them belong to the F. Calvert collection and they were delivered to the museum in the 1930s, and the others were included in the museum collection through purchase and donate. And this short study aims to contribute to some general opinions about the common methods and studies used in lighting in the Byzantine period, and how the lighting problem was solved in the Byzantine period, through a small group of lighting tools in the Troy Museum.
Troya Müzesi’nde Bulunan Bizans Dönemi Metal Aydınlatma Araçları
Oğuz KoçyiğitAntik çağda Troas, Bizans döneminde ise Hellespont olarak adlandırılan Çanakkale yöresinin kültürel mirasının korunması ve sergilenmesine odaklanan Troya-Çanakkale Müzesi’nde bugün hatırı sayılır miktarda Bizans eseri bulunmaktadır. Bu eserlerin önemli bir kısmını da aydınlatma araçları oluşturmaktadır. Her biri birbirinden farklı ve değişik aydınlatma tekniklerine ait bu eserlerin küçük bir bölümü pişmiş toprak olmasına rağmen çoğunlukla metal malzemeden üretilmiştir. Bunlar arasında Orta ve Geç Bizans Dönemi’ne ait sınırlı sayıda örnek bulunmakla birlikte, büyük kısmı Erken Bizans Dönemi’ne tarihlendirilmektedir. Bu çalışmanın konusunu kandiller başta olmak üzere, kandil taşıyıcıları, kandil diskus kapakları ya da cam kandil askıları ve polykandilion gibi çeşitli aydınlatma araçlarına ait eserler grubu oluşturmaktadır. Troya Müzesi koleksiyonunda bulunan ve toplam sayıları yirmi üç olan söz konusu bu metal eserlerin on dördü 1930’lu yıllarda müzeye teslim edilen F. Calvert koleksiyonuna ait olup diğerleri satın alma ya da bağış yoluyla müze koleksiyonuna dâhil edilmiştir. Dolayısıyla bu çalışmada Troya Müzesi’nde bulunan küçük bir grup aydınlatma aracı üzerinden Bizans Dönemi’nde aydınlatmada kullanılan yaygın yöntem ve tekniklerin neler olduğu ve Erken Bizans Dönemi’nde aydınlatma probleminin nasıl çözümlendiğine dair genel bazı sorunlara katkı sunmak amaçlanmaktadır.
The northwestern part of Anatolia has been named Troad in antiquity and Hellespont in the Byzantine era. Today, this region has an important museum called Çanakkale - Troy Museum, which focuses on the preservation and display of the cultural heritage of the region. There is a considerable number of Byzantine artifacts in this museum and an important group of these are Byzantine lighting devices. While a small group of them consists of terracotta, the majority are metal works and most of these lighting devices belong to the early Byzantine period. Of these metal objects, which are in the Troy Museum collection and whose total number is twenty-three, fourteen of them belong to the F. Calvert collection and they were delivered to the museum in the 1930s, and the others were included in the museum collection through purchase and donate. And this short study aims to contribute to some general opinions about the common methods and studies used in lighting in the Byzantine period, and how the lighting problem was solved in the Byzantine period, through a small group of lighting tools in the Troy Museum.
The metal oil lamps in the museum collection were produced in the mold casting technique, mostly using bronze. The first of these artifacts is belong to the flat-round body class of single-nosed lamps, and it is standard with its handle that can be evaluated as a curved branch. In addition, there is a very distinctive cross on the handle, which rises upwards from the body and splits into two and joins in the middle by making an arc. This lamp can be counted among the typical examples of the early Byzantine period with its spherical shape discus lid, conical handle and a high ring base. And, we can say that this lamp, whose similar examples can be seen in many museums and collections is dated to the 5th and 6th century AD. In addition, there are two more metal oil lamps, which are like to this oil lamp, in the collection and again belong to the flat-round body class of single-nosed oil lamps because of their form and shape features. However, their handles and discus lids have not survived. These lamps have a high ring and conical bases and have holes at the bottom that narrow towards the body so they can sit on the lampstands and they can be dated to the 5th or 6th century AD. Another metal lamp in the collection is included in the round body group of single-nosed lamps and stands out with its short, rounded nose. The lamp has a high shoulder with a low ring base and is separated from the discus by two grooves. After we evaluate all these features and similar ones it can be dated to the 5th - 6th centuries AD such as others. In addition, we can state that there are examples of different types and shapes of bull-head-shaped, mask-shaped and palmette leaf-shaped discus caps, which are understood to be used in these metal lamps, belonging to the same period.
This kind of metal oil lamps were used by lamp stands or legs called candelabrum, which seem to have been used for a long time and can be bronze or silver depending on the condition of the lamp on which they are placed. So, there are some bronze examples of these artifacts in the Byzantine lighting devices of the museum collection, and the total number of these lamp holders is four, in which the legs of two and the tabletops of two have survived to the present day. Among these, the two examples, which we can evaluate in the group of three-legged carriers are typical with their lion claws, intact with the gnarled body part extending towards the table with the feet, while only the foot part of the other has survived, and both two artifacts are dated to the 5th or 6th century AD. It can be said that these lamp holders with lion’s claws are similar to the furniture of the period, and similar ones can be seen in some ivory works with throne depictions.
In addition, there is a small group of lamp hangers that allow glass oil lamps to be used by hanging with some complementary metal evenings that may belong to various lighting devices in the collection. They were formed because of connecting three wires with bent two ends to a wire that is understood to have been made into a ring by bending both ends similar examples of these glass oil lamp hangers date back to the 5th-6th centuries. Some metal objects seem to belong to polykandilions in different shapes and forms. The first of these metal parts is made of iron and it is part of a chain in the form of a Latin cross, which is understood to carry a large polykandilion. The other one is similar in the form of a Latin cross but is made of bronze. It is understood that these crosses, whose arms end by expanding from the center to the ends, are connected to the chain by making a hole at the ends of the lower and upper arms, belonging 6th or 7th century.
As a result, this study focuses on the lighting matter, which has an important place in Byzantine daily life, based on the metal lighting devices, most of which belong to early Byzantine, in Çanakkale - Troy Museum. It also aimed to contribute to the subject by evaluating the problems such as what could be the common practices and techniques - methods used for lighting in the Byzantine era, through a small group of lighting devices.
