A Byzantine fawn terracotta oil lamp, c. 6th - 7th Century A.D.

A Byzantine fawn terracotta oil lamp, c. 6th - 7th Century A.D.

Code: 1846

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Description: A fawn terracotta oil lamp of flattened form with stub handle and a moulded petal design around the central filler hole. Some earthy encrustation and overall surface wear, with some minor chips and some soot deposits around the wick hole, probably from Syria or Palestine.

Size: 85 mm/3.3 ins. in length

Culture: Byzantine

Date: c. 6th - 7th Century A.D.

Provenance: Ex Colorado private collection, and previously in the Major Blinkinsop Collection, acquired while working for the UN in the Middle East during the 1960s.

Background:  Major Blinkinsop built up a very large collection of ancient lamps while serving in the Middle East. The entire collection was crated up and shipped to the USA at the onset of the 1967 Israeli-Arab War. These crates were reputedly only opened by his descendants in 2012.