Roman, Imperial Period, ca. 1st to 3rd century CE. A tall, cast bronze lamp stand, made to hold a bronze or ceramic oil lamp suspended from its upper portion. The feet of the lamp are shaped like horse hooves, with the legs bent deeply to form a tripod-like stand. From the raised center of the tripod, a long, thin cylinder of bronze, its body marked by deep vertical grooves, rises over a foot to a cross-shaped horizontal platform which would have once supported the lamp. Below the platform are four deeply curved hooks, three of which are fully present, terminating in a small cone. Size: 7" W x 24.5" H (17.8 cm x 62.2 cm)

A stand like this one would have served as the main way to provide artificial lighting inside of a Roman house; many similar ones have been found at Pompeii, for example. Roman houses were furnished mainly with wood, and bronze and stone items would have been treasured and probably passed down through a family as heirlooms.

See a less ornate example at the Metropolitan Museum of Art: https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/248087

Provenance: private Orange County, California, USA collection, acquired before 2000

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Losses to the arms at the top of the piece, and one of the hooks at the top is also partially lost. Repair in the center of the pole and repair on the lower part of each of the legs.