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Details / Information for Lamp

Lamp

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.a
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 features a horizontal, mottled gray body that tapers to a round spout at one end. A horse's head and neck curve upward at the other to form a handle, featuring an open mouth and textured, wavy mane. A central circular opening with a fluted rim contains a vertical spike, and three incised lines wrap around the neck where it joins the body.

Lamp

late 300s CE

Byzantium, Syria(?), Byzantine period

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