Late Hellenistic, Egyptian Terracotta Melon-Shaped Oil Lamp
£ 295.00
A fine Late Hellenistic, Egyptian, terracotta, mould-made oil lamp, featuring a melon-shaped body. The body of the lamp features thirteen rounded lobes, which extends to a long, flat nozzle and a rounded tip. A plain rim surrounds the wick hole. On either side, two long double volutes, terminating with scrolls on both sides, decorate the nozzle. They lead up to the flat discus, defined from the shoulders with a raised ridge. At the centre, the rim of the filling hole is also raised, with small rectangular panels radiating out around the rim, further enriching the lamp. To the top of the lamp, there is a flat rectangular protrusion, which was likely decorative in nature, though now worn. The three lobes extending from this protrusion are less deeply defined than the others. All the lobes of this melon-shaped lamp continue downwards to a raised ring foot, on which the lamp sits.
Date: Circa 1st Century BC
Condition: Fine condition. Earthly encrustations and signs of wear as consistent with age, such as pitting, scratches, chipping and flaking. Some discolouration in several places, including burn marks to the nozzle and tip.
SOLD
The first mould-made lamps started appearing at the beginning of the third century BC and quickly began to compete with wheel-made lamps, which were far more work and generally undecorated. These lamps were made in two halves, each of which comprised a layer of damp clay, impressed in a mould before the two halves of the mould were pressed together. This allowed for the mass reproduction of oil lamps, as well as greater versatility in their size, shape, and decoration. Examples of this particular shape are linked to ‘Ephesus’ type lamps and are thought to have originated in Asia Minor. Classification is still quite fluid, due in part to the many variants found on examples.
To discover more about oil lamps in Antiquity, please visit our relevant blog post: Lighting The Way.
