CANDELABRUM, a pedestal or shaft used to support a lamp or candle; in common usage limited to shafts for lamps or a group of candles, in contradistinction to candlestick for a single candle. The Romans, developing Hellenistic precedents, made them objects of great decorative richness. Two Roman types are found: the simpler, consisting of a slender shaft, often fluted, supported on a spreading base of animals' feet and acanthus scrolls, and carrying a flat shelf with vase-like mouldings. The multitude of such candelabra found in Pompeii proves them to have been a common form of household decoration. The more monumental type, either of marble or bronze, used in public buildings, had for the base a pedestal resembling a little altar which carried a heavy shaft, frequently decorated with row on row of acanthus leaves, but sometimes with a delicate moulded profile of baluster type, and a round shelf at the top. The lavish ness of such examples made a great impression on Renaissance artists, and the general form known as the candelabrum shaft became a common decorative motive in the late 15th century, especially for the centre of pilasters. In modern work, exterior lighting fixtures often take candelabrum shapes.