Oil Lamp
1944.03.0065
Detailed Images
Basic Information
Artifact Identification | Oil Lamp (1944.03.0065) |
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Classification/ Nomenclature |
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Artist/Maker | None |
Geographic Location | |
Period/Date | Roman Empire - Byzantine Empire |
Culture | Roman or Byzantine |
Physical Analysis
Dimension 1 (Length) | 8.2 cm |
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Dimension 2 (Width) | 6.7 cm |
Dimension 3 (Depth) | 4.0 cm |
Weight | 56 g |
Measuring Remarks | None |
Materials | Ceramic |
Manufacturing Processes | Cast--Press-Mold, |
Munsell Color Information | Grayish Yellow (2.5Y 7/4) -Main odor. Black (N 2/ 3.1% R) -Black area. Dark Grayish Yellow (2.5Y 6/4) -Bottom. |
Research Remarks
Published Description | "A small, buff-colored ovoid lamp, this piece belongs to a large group indigenous to Egypt known as "frog" lamps. The reservoir has deep, rounded sides, and a nozzle fully merged with the body. The base is flat, and marked with a palm motif. A molded band forms the discus around the filling hole. The small wick hole at the narrow end of the nozzle is set off by a single curved incised line. The upper surface of the lamp is decorated with a naturalistic-looking frog modeled in low relief. The anatomical details are articulated with incised lines and prick marks. Lamps such as this example were popular over a long period of time in Egypt. Production began as early as the second century, or earlier, and continued throughout the Early Christian period (Shier, 1978, pp. 24-30). Comparable lamps are illustrated in Shier, 1978, p. 102, no. 246, pl. 29; Menzel. pp. 88-89, ns. 584-86; Holscher, p. 68, fig. 88a, pl. 40, no. 7; Dalton, 1901, p. 150, pl. XXXII, no. 819. For the significance of the frog motif, see p. 10." -Eunice Dauterman Maguire, Henry Maguire and Maggie J. Duncan-Flowers, Art and Holy Powers in the Early Christian House (Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1989), 75. |
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Description | N/A |
Comparanda | N/A |
Bibliography | Maguire, Eunice Dauterman, Henry Maguire and Maggie J. Duncan-Flowers. Art and Holy Powers in the Early Christian House. Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1989. |
Artifact History
Archaeological Data | N/A |
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Credit Line/Dedication | Courtesy of Mrs. J. J. Parry |
Reproduction | no |
Reproduction Information | N/A |