Miniature Terracotta Oil Lamp - Ancient Egypt, Circa 2nd – 1st Century BC.
A scarce miniature mould-made dark red terracotta oil lamp with long nozzle and vestigial offset handle. Evidence of use, excellent overall condition.
Although it may look to be a toy, it was a tiny functional votive lamp used in a small household shrine in late Ptolemaic/early Roman Egypt!
For similar examples, see Hayes, Ancient Lamps in the Royal Ontario Museum, plates 17-20.
For the Egyptian “Lamp House” shrines see Hayes, ibid, plate 68, and Catalogue of Lamps in the British Museum, item Q1995-1997.
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).
Length: 1 ¾ inches – 45mm
