Round Terracotta Lamp with Face Relief

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Description: 

Round Terracotta Lamp with Face Relief

terracotta: handmade, fabric: coarse reddish clay
height 4.2 cm
length 8.2 cm
width 5.4 cm

Portland State University Middle East Studies Center
Bogue Lamp Collection, Lamp ID #50, PSU 083 (109)

 

Professor Anne Nicogorski, Willamette University, cited with permission

This brown lamp is basically circular in form with a human face as the design on it. The handle is at the top of the head and serves as a funnel for the fill hole, which is pierced at its base. The nozzle is a beard-like projection from the chin. Shape: Round bodied lamp w/ rounded bottom; extended lug handle, concave on top, located opposite short rounded nozzle. Fill hole located at juncture of handle and body. Decoration: Entire rounded upper surface covered with relief human face; top of head near handle; 2 rows of nearly vertical incised hatch-marks indicating hair or hat; narrow eyes indicated by pair of horizontal ridges; relief nose; no mouth or beard indicated other than nozzle itself. Inscriptions: None. Condition: Mostly complete; large chip from end of nozzle. Drops of green paint -- apparently modern. Burning on top and especially near nozzle hole; some encrustation.

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.