Description
A molded terracotta oil lamp of the Early Christian Byzantine period, distinguished by a prominently displayed Christian cross decorating the upper surface.
The lamp is formed with an elongated, pear-shaped body, a large circular filling aperture surrounded by a substantial raised collar, and a smaller circular wick-hole at the narrow end. Between the two openings is a clearly modeled cross, positioned prominently along the central axis of the lamp. Its deliberate placement makes the Christian character of the decoration immediately recognizable.
The cross is surrounded by raised linear and curvilinear ornament extending along the shoulders of the vessel. These decorative elements frame the central Christian symbol and contribute to the strongly symmetrical composition without detracting from the cross as the principal iconographic feature.
Cross-decorated terracotta lamps became characteristic objects of Early Christian material culture throughout the Byzantine eastern Mediterranean and Holy Land. During the 5th–7th centuries A.D., explicitly Christian imagery increasingly appeared on objects used in everyday life, including pottery, lamps, jewelry and architectural decoration.
The presence of the cross is particularly appropriate on an oil lamp. Light occupied a central place in Christian religious imagery and worship, and lamps were used in domestic, ecclesiastical and devotional environments. A lamp bearing the Cross therefore combined an ordinary source of illumination with one of Christianity’s most important sacred symbols.
The lamp is manufactured from warm orange-buff terracotta and retains considerable molded detail. Dark discoloration around the wick-hole appears consistent with burning and ancient use. Surface wear, deposits and minor abrasions are consistent with age.
REFERENCE #
OL-BZ-1028
CIVILIZATION
Byzantine, circa 5th–7th century A.D.
CONDITION
Well preserved, with expected surface wear and deposits. The filling aperture and wick-hole remain intact, and the molded Christian cross is clearly preserved and readily identifiable.
PRICE
$450
PROVENANCE
Found in Israel
