Cast copper alloy, engraved, chiseled, and gilded, with niello (?) and traces of silver South Netherlandish, Meuse River Valley, ca. 1160 Dom-Museum Hildesheim Unusual and complex iconography distinguishes these candlesticks. On one are personifications of the conrinents, each holding a fragment of the disk representing Earth and a second attribute: Europa is armed with a sword and shielf (war); Asia bears a receptacle representing wealth; Africa holds the book of science. The figures on the other candlestick bear allegories of medicine (a vase), conflict (two fighting snakes), and theory and practice (two busts of young men). The allegories may collectively evoke the totality of the universe.
aperture=f2.8 focal length: 60.0 mm exposure 1/100 sec ISO: 2000