"HOLLOW" FLOOR CANDLE HOLDERS

Candles were of primary importance for church lighting. The so-called “hollow candles” were in fact candle holders made of wax or wood, but hollow inside. Such ornate candle holders also bore inscriptions. There are two “hollow candles” in front of the Veneration tier of the iconostasis in the Church of the Deposition of the Virgin’s Robe.  Ornate lettering in the upper part of these huge candle holders evidences that they were donated to the Church by Patriarch Joseph in 1649. They have silver-plated copper stands based on three lion figures, and tops for small candles. These “hollow candles” were surely made by Moscow makers.

Of interest is also a silver-plated church chandelier of the 17th century, made by Russian masters. Its top is decorated by a double-headed eagle that as a rule was an attribute of tsar’s donation.