Frankish Kingdom of Jerusalem, circa 1170-1180

The object is likely to be a find and there are areas of greening and some minor corrosion accordingly. There are a few traces of enamel, some section were possibly regilded. There is overall wear and dirt to the surface consistent with age. Otherwise the condition is stable.
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This candlestick base relates closely to the bases of a pair of candlesticks kept in the Abegg-Stiftung, Bern (inv. no. 8.185.72). Gauthier (op.cit.) has attributed that pair to a French master active in the Kingdom of Jerusalem. This attribution is based on a further candlestick that was found in Jerusalem and is now in the Archeological Museum there (inv. SF1286). The patterns on the rim are indeed closely related to contemporary Near-Eastern metalwork.

RELATED LITERATURE
M.-M. Gauthier, Émaux méridionaux. Catalogue international de l'oeuvre de Limoges. 1. L'époque romane, Paris, 1987, nos. 124-25; M. Stettler and K. Otavsky, Abegg-Stiftung Bern in Riggisberg, Bern, 1971, no. 19