Artwork Page for Lamp and Stand

Details / Information for Lamp and Stand

Lamp and Stand

late 300s CE

Byzantium, Syria(?), Byzantine period

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Medium
silver
Measurements
Overall: 9.2 x 16 x 7 cm (3 5/8 x 6 5/16 x 2 3/4 in.)
Credit Line
Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund 1954.597
Public Domain
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Location
104 Late Antiquity
Print

Description

Numerous oil lamps of various shapes and sizes have survived from the late Roman and early Byzantine periods. Most served a basic utilitarian function and were plainly fashioned from clay or bronze. However, a few more elaborate examples, such as this one, have survived in silver. Embellished with an elegant horse-head handle, this lamp was made to fit on the nearby stand, thus offering its owner flexibility of function.
A silver lamp and stand features a boat-shaped vessel topped by a horse-head handle facing right with a wavy mane. It sits in a scalloped basin atop a tall, vertical stem of stacked spherical segments. The base terminates in three curved legs ending in elegant scrolls. Dark gray and black tarnish mottles the silver surface throughout, emphasizing the aged, weathered texture of the antique metal.

Lamp and Stand

late 300s CE

Byzantium, Syria(?), Byzantine period

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