Greek-Hellenistic Terracotta Oil Lamp
Ephesus
Circa 2nd/1st Century BC
Length: 4.5 inches – 115mm Width: 2.25 inches – 52mm
An exceptionally nice example of the “Ephesian” type of mold-made terracotta pottery oil lamp, possibly manufactured in the Greek city-state of Ephesus. It exhibits a distinctive form with grooved loop handle, circular central body, and elongated nozzle ending in a flared circular wick receptacle. There are six double rings in relief decorating each shoulder. The terracotta lamp is covered with a gray semi-glossy glaze.
Reference: J.W. Hayes, Ancient Lamps in the Royal Ontario Museum, 1980, catalog #55 for a nearly identical lamp with eight rings on the sides. Also see P.M.S Jones, Collecting Ancient Lamps, 2002, plate 10 for more examples of the form.
Provenance: Mid-western collection, purchased in Turkey in the mid 1960's.
In the villas, palaces and shops of the Greek, Roman and Byzantine Empires terracotta oil lamps were the primary means of artificial lighting. They were usually filled with olive oil and held a wick (linen was the most often used material). They burned for hours to light up the ancient world. The rich, in their villas, needed hundreds; the poor had only a few.
