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Wikimedia Commons · CC0 · Hover to magnify, click for fullscreen
Original fileThe image depicts a tall metal stand with a central vertical shaft and six curved arms arranged symmetrically, creating seven points for candles or lamps. The arms and shaft are decorated with series of small rings or knops, and the entire structure rests on a stepped pedestal. The accompanying Latin text provides its dimensions and interprets its form through the lens of early Christian archaeology.
Athanasius Kircher, a key figure in 17th-century polymathic and esoteric thought, uses this object to link physical antiquities with sacred symbolism. He interprets the seven branches as a representation of the 'seven apocalyptic candelabras' from the Book of Revelation, the seven churches of Asia, and the seven spirits standing before God.
Candelabrum Aeneum heptalych. nuchon. Et S. Eustachij. 135 omni violentia tutam, unà cum alijs pretiosioribus ab- sconderant. Sequitur Candelabrum heptalychnum, septem cereis portandis aptum, sex palmis altum, in superiori parte tribus latum, quod sanè magnam antiquitatem praefert, multiplici annulorum hinc indè mobilium ordine instructum, cuiusmodi & hic Romae in vete- rum Basilicarum Choris spectantur, quibus quidem he- ptalychnis nil aliud, quàm septem Candelabra apo- calyptica, quae septem Asiae Ecclesias referebant, vel se- ptem spiritus seu Angelos, qui semper in conspectu Dei stant, exprimere voluisse videntur. Verùm ne quic- quam consideratione dignum omisisse videamur, hic eius figuram apponere visum fuit. Lypsana quoque, quae in hac Ecclesia reperiuntur, rara sunt cumprimis, & pretiosa. Sunt inter caetera, insi- gnis primùm Sanctae Crucis particula, Apostolorum ferè omnium nec non SS. Stephani, Clementis, Cor- nelij, caeterorumque Pontificum, S. Laurentij, aliorum- que Martyrum, quae in hunc usque diem in Reposito- rio separato, ad quod non nisi per scalae portatilis ap- plicationem ascenditur, collocata, certis dierum solem- nitatibus populo, ad deuotionem excitandam, monstran- tur. CA-
Translation
Bronze Candelabrum seven-branched. lampstand. And of St. Eustace. 135 safe from all violence, together with other more precious items, they had hidden. There follows a seven-branched candelabrum, suitable for carrying seven candles, six palms high, three wide at the upper part, which indeed displays great antiquity, fitted with a manifold row of rings mobile on all sides, of the kind also seen here in Rome in the Choirs of ancient Basilicas, by which indeed these seven-branched candelabra seem to have been intended to express nothing other than the seven apocalyptic candelabra, which represented the seven Churches of Asia, or the seven spirits or Angels who always stand in the sight of God. But lest we seem to have omitted anything worthy of consideration, it has been decided to place its figure here. The relics also, which are found in this Church, are especially rare and precious. There are among others, first, a notable particle of the Holy Cross, [relics] of almost all the Apostles, as well as of SS. Stephen, Clement, Cornelius, and other Pontiffs, St. Lawrence, and other Martyrs, which to this day are placed in a separate Repository, to which one ascends only through the application of a portable ladder, [and] are shown to the people on certain solemn days, to excite devotion. CA-
Athanasius Kircher
Kircher authored the text and commissioned the illustration as part of his study of the Sanctuary of Mentorella.
Book of Revelation
The text explicitly links the seven branches to the seven candelabras and seven spirits mentioned in the Apocalypse.
Object
Engraving
scientific
Digital Source
Wikimedia Commons · CC0
https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_t_W90yMzYekC/page/n8/mode/2up
Creative Commons Zero, Public Domain Dedication
1417 × 940 px
b974e1ef553211260bdf6d8feb454b5133938cfa
April 19, 2020
March 24, 2026
Linked Data
AI AI-cataloged fields generated by gemini-3-flash-preview on April 1, 2026. Getty identifiers are AI-inferred and may require verification.