Rectangular Terracotta Lamp with Five Nozzles and Ladder Relief

Description: 

Rectangular Terracotta Lamp with Five Nozzles and Ladder Relief

terracotta, fabric: fine, reddish clay with some inclusions and mica
height 2.4-2.9 cm
length 7.2 cm
width 9.6 cm

Portland State University Middle East Studies Center
Bogue Lamp Collection, Lamp ID #73, PSU 137 (159)

 

Professor Anne Nicogorski, Willamette University, cited with permission

This tan, fictile lamp is unique in form. The body is rectangular and contains five wick holes, all in the front. It has a large, un-pierced handle at the rear, and a side-projection at either end. It has a rectangular rope design around the fill hole on the perimeter. The bottom bears an indistinct potter’s mark.  The lamp is very crudely made. Shape: Rectangular lamp with flat base and two triangular projections on the short ends; rectangular un-pierced vertical handle on one long end, opposite five rounded wick holes; central fill hole on top within concave rectangular discus. Decoration: Relief on top: rectangular band of diagonal ladder pattern around top surface; herringbone design on top of handle; side projections decorated with relief volute patterns. Inscriptions: Potter's mark on bottom within incised rectangle. Condition: Mostly complete with lots of chips around nozzle holes; worn on all surfaces; some cracks and encrustation; burning around wick holes.