Object Image

Terracotta oil lamp

Vessberg type 19 (slipper lamp). Mold-made, with applied conical handle. Broad, sharply carinated body; on the discus, indistinct pattern with central filling hole, surrounded by two raised lines that run forward to the wick hole, forming a channel between the two; on the shoulder, a pattern of wavy tendrils. Undefined base, with raised line extending to front.

Intact, but heavily encrusted. The wick hole has been crudely formed in the center of the discus.

Credit: The Cesnola Collection, Purchased by subscription, 1874–76...

7th century A.D.
Terracotta
3.8 x 8.9cm
74.51.2132
Image and text © Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2019

Where you'll find this

The Metropolitan Museum of Art
Permanent collection