Preview
Creation Date
4th–7th century
Geography
Central Tunisia
Culture
Roman, Byzantine
Medium
Terracotta, African red slip ware
Dimensions
3 1/2 × 2 × 1 1/2 in. (8.9 × 5.1 × 3.8 cm)
1.87 oz. (52.9 g)
Credit Line
Bequest of David P. Harris ('46), 2020
Accession Number
2020.283
Provenance
Purchased by David P. Harris from Julia Schottlander (Tetragon) in London on June 13, 1992.
Condition
This object is a fragment of a larger piece, a lamp. The majority of the object is the traditional terracotta burnt orange, but there are some signs of discoloration. There is a tan/brown gritty material in crevices particularly near the raised portion, which is shaped like a rudimentary handle. On the underside of the object, more of this gritty material is stuck to the object, again situated more towards the handle. The shape of the break indicates that this object likely had a bottom half, creating a three-dimensional lamp, that is now missing. There is some chipping on the perimeter of the object below the main peacock figure and on the more raised portions of the design (see handle and raised portion of border).
Lindsey Neff (’24), October 2023
Description
This lamp fragment was once part of a functional object. There is a brown gritty material, likely leftover oil deposits, that indicates its use over time. Lamps, as the most common form of lighting in the Late Antique period, would have been well-used objects. This supports the look of wear with this object. Furthermore, a hole, carved near the image of the peacock, suggests a fill-hole for oil. Users of this lamp would have used olive oil or vegetable oil as fuel for their light. Castor oil was also used in this period, mostly by the poor. Interestingly, a variance in the break of the fragment, directly above this hole, suggests that a second fill-hole was carved into this object. When this lamp was fully functional, the wick would have come out of the other side through the nozzle. Because of the ubiquity of lamps in this period, it is hard to determine where this fragment may have come from in terms of public or private spaces. They were found in homes, shops, public buildings (such as council chambers, theaters, and baths), and churches.
In terms of its place of making, this lamp fragment was crafted in Central Tunisia. Its orange-red hue indicates the type of slip, or liquid clay, used to coat the object. African Red Slip Ware, as it is known, is categorized by its orange-red color, and ceramics from this region were mass produced in the Late Antique period up until the 7th century. A two-part mold made the process efficient in ancient terms.
Aesthetic additions could be added to the clay lamps with stamps. On this fragment of a lamp, the predominant figure stamped onto it is a peacock, indicated by the textural details of feathers and the plume atop its head. The peacock is stamped onto a plain background in low relief. It faces towards the handle, away from where the light would have emitted. Its design is abstracted, and the peacock feels static as a result. In terms of iconography, the peacock was viewed as a symbol of the resurrection during this period. It was said that the peacock lost its feathers in the winter and re-grew them in the spring. As a result, it symbolized rebirth and resurrection.
On the perimeter of the fragment, a border of smaller stamps, a tree and a bird, surround the central peacock, also in low relief and in the same abstracted style. There is an indication of a continued pattern that would have likely surrounded the whole of the lamp face. The protruding element of the fragment, the rudimentary handle, seems to act as the starting point for the repeating pattern. The pattern of tree-bird-tree would likely continue for the entirety of the border. This balanced motif falls in line with contemporary interest in symmetry, often used to create a sense of harmony and rhythm. Furthermore, the tree resembles a palm tree. The inclusion of the palm tree next to a larger icon of a peacock furthers the theme of resurrection on this lamp face due to its connections with Palm Sunday, the Sunday before the Resurrection on the biblical calendar.
Lindsey Neff (’24)