Byzantine Terracotta Oil Lamp with Geometric Decoration

£ 75.00

A Byzantine moulded terracotta oil lamp produced in the Holy Land, possibly by the Samaritans. It features an ovoid body with a central filling hole marked by an encircling groove. A raised ridge frames the filling hole and extends towards the tapering nozzle, forming a channel. The shoulders are decorated with a geometric design in relief. The design is composed of a herringbone pattern to either side of the channel, followed by two square vignettes, each containing a wheel-like motif with a dot in each corner. The remaining field is filled with diagonal lines and a central column of chevrons. A further vertical raised ridge enriches the channel in the middle. The rear of the lamp features a conical knobbed handle, now unfortunately chipped. The reverse is flat and remains undecorated.

Date: Circa 5th-7th century AD
Provenance: Ex Jacob Shacham collection, Caesarea.
Condition: Repaired with a long vertical crack visible along the middle of the reverse as well as the channel. Earthly encrustations to the surface.

In stock

This particular lamp might be identified as the so-called Samaritan type, characterised by its ovoid body, a relatively long nozzle with a channel and geometric designs which typically include ladder-like or herringbone patterns. The Samaritans, who still exist as a minority group today, are an ethnoreligious group from the Middle East. They occupied the region of modern-day Tel Aviv to Haifa. Their numbers grew the most during the Byzantine Period and by the 6th century numbered in their millions. Revolts against the Byzantine Empire caused their numbers to dwindle as the Eastern Roman Empire crushed their uprisings, decreasing their numbers to just thousands. From excavations undertaken it is known that there were large Samaritan communities in Caesarea and Beit Shean.

To discover more about oil lamps in Antiquity, please visit our relevant blog post: Lighting The Way.

Weight 81.2 g
Dimensions L 10.1 x W 5.6 x H 3.3 cm
Culture

Region

Pottery and Porcelain

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