Oil lamp

From the earliest times olive lamps served man as a source of artificial lighting In the collection of the National Museum in Lublin there are four antique lamps. These are elements of a collection probably dating from before World War II. They may have been stored in Collegium Bobolanum, currently the Military Hospital on Racławickie Avenue in Lublin.

It is a lamp in the shape of a bowl, the so-called Tiegellampe. It was made of grey clay without slipware. Its shape is characterised by a high spout and a large olive hole. The shoulders are narrow and sloping, the basin high, round, the foot round, not high. It is not preserved completely. The vise and the burner from the base are missing.

This form of lamp was popular for a long time in European and Near Eastern areas. It can be dated to the period between the 4th and 6th century A.D. (Europe) and the 7th-8th century (Middle East).

Lamps like the described example were turned on a potter's wheel. They were intended for everyday use. Lamps from the Roman period were usually bowl-shaped with beaks and handles. They were decorated with various motifs ranging from floral motifs, images of gods, gladiator fights, erotic scenes to simple genre scenes.