Ptolemaic 'plastic' oil lamp in the shape of a head
Medium:Mould-made earthenware
Geography: Made in Egypt in lower Nile Valley region; findspot unknown
Date: probably 1st century BC
Period: Hellenistic period
Object number: 910.192.5
Gallery Location:Gallery of Greece
DescriptionThis lamp is made of deep brown clay with fine gold mica (biotite) particles indicating that it came from the lower Nile Valley. It has been created in a two-piece mould, which not exactly aligned, resulting in a skewed nozzle. On the base are slight impressions of the straw on which it rested before being fired. There is some burning on the nozzle indicating that it was used.
