Pitcher Shaped Terracotta Lamp

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Description: 

Pitcher Shaped Terracotta Lamp

late 2nd-1st century BCE

terracotta: mold-made with vertical seams, fabric: fine brown clay with some mica. Munsell: 5 YR 5/3 reddish brown
height 6.4 cm
length 7.4 cm
width 6.3 cm

Portland State University Middle East Studies Center
Bogue Lamp Collection, Lamp ID #170, PSU 087 (113)

 

Professor Anne Nicogorski, Willamette University, cited with permission

This brown molded lamp is a pitcher lamp, resembling a pitcher or vase. The nozzle extends from the top of the wide, open neck, straight down to the rounded, medium length wick support. The top of the nozzle area is pierced by five random holes. The ring handle is on the side.  The bottom half of the reservoir is decorated with a simple line design. Shape: Jug lamp with disk base; round body profile with tall vertical neck and rounded lip; vertical ring handle, rectangular in section, on side extending from rim to upper body; broad scoop-like projection forming short rounded nozzle with wick hole at bottom; five small holes pierced through wall above wick hole. Decoration: Two shallow grooves flank raised ridge running horizontally around center of body; vertical ridges and grooves on lower body. Inscriptions: None. Condition: Intact; small hole on underside of spout; minor surface chips; worn; burnt and blackened.

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.