The John Lenk Collection - Artifacts

SOLD

Collection of 5 

Antique Clay Oil Lamps

circa 100 AD

collected circa 1967

dimensions: 

approx 2 1/2" diameter x 1" high

Varied Condition.  Some repairs

Four disk shaped Roman oil lamps, collected in the Middle East.  Lamps are molded clay, decorated with human and animal forms that include 2 lions, one rabbit, and one pair of human figures.  

The 5th lamp is anthropomorphic, molded in the form of a male head wearing a cone-shaped cap.  Lamp is "polycandelic" with three wick holes at the tips of the figure's beard.  Possibly Assyrian. There is a fine crack radiating out to both sides of the filling hole. Otherwise very good condition.

Lamp with figurative design is in very good condition. Nice age patina and smoke residue surrounding wick hole.  Raised, perforated handle, depressed center, and double-ring design on bottom.

North African style rabbit lamp is the largest of the grouping, approx 5" from handle to tip.  Very nice, elongated design with fin-like handle, three holes, and depressed center with running rabbit design encircled by radiating lines. Lamp is cracked around the perimeter, along the seam between the two molded halves, with the crack continuing across the tip of the spout. Displays very well despite crack. 

Roman style lion lamps are decorated with a leaping lion design, surrounded by a decorative garland-like ring. Lion lamp #1 is broken and repaired. Lion lamp #2 is in good overall condition with broken handle.  Both display well from above.

HISTORICAL NOTE

Clay lamps are among the most common pottery vessels found in Middle Eastern and North African archaeological remains. Olive oil was the fuel normally used in lamps, although other oils were used as well. The earliest lamps take the form of a simple clay bowl in which a wick was laid.  In the Persian period, bronze lamps make their first appearance. From the Hellenistic Period onward, the forms of  bronze lamps influenced the design of their clay counterparts.

In the 3rd century B.C. Greek potters centers began to make lamps in moulds, and in the 5th century B.C. they succeeded in producing a closed lamp which prevented oil from spilling.

Lamps from the 2^nd and 3rd centuries B.C. have a rounded body and a concave disc surrounding the filling-hole, sometimes with additional holes to ensure no oil was wasted. The base is flat and the nozzle is elongated.     These lamps were decorated in a wide variety of ways, from simple rosettes to images of deities, animals, birds, erotic, political, and religious scenes.

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