Frog Style Terracotta Lamp with Palm Fond and Knot Relief

Access image
Description: 

Frog Style Terracotta Lamp with Palm Fond and Knot Relief

terracotta: mold-made, fabric: medium-fine. Munsell: 2.5 Y 7/3 pale yellow
height 3.2 cm
length 7.8 cm
width 7.1 cm

Portland State University Middle East Studies Center
Bogue Lamp Collection, Lamp ID #325, PSU 052 (80)

 

Professor Anne Nicogorski, Willamette University, cited with permission

This lamp has a medium-length, thick, pierced nozzle on its ovoid body. The pierced fill hole is in a recess that is surrounded by a deeply incised line which is in turn surrounded by a stylization of a frog. The design consists of two palm fronds, and a number of short, parallel lines. There is a distinct potter’s mark on the bottom. Shape: Round-bodied lamp with flat base set off by circular groove; slightly carinated body profile; small concave discus set off by circular groove; central fill hole; short, extended nozzle rounded at tip. Decoration: Brown slip? (probably discoloration). Frog-type lamp. Relief decoration on shoulder consisting of pair of palm fronds joined by stylized knot opposite nozzle; nozzle axis decorated with ladder pattern flanked by three diagonal grooves/ridges. Inscriptions: Potter's mark on base (alpha). Condition: Intact; surface worn and discolored -- patches of dark brown.

Protocol: 
Portland State University Middle East Studies Center - Public Access
Community: 
Portland State University Middle East Studies Center
Category: 
Ceramics, Utilitarian Objects
Keywords: 
Lamp
Rights: 
Image reproduced with permission from Portland State University Middle East Studies Center. The institutions that house the specific Medieval Portland objects ultimately hold the rights to their image and reproduction; the images are provided here as a courtesy by those institutions and are for non-profit, educational use only.