Today’s Olive Oil Lamp

Last Tuesday, I made an olive oil lamp I wasn’t very happy with, so, today, I made another one. It took one and a half hours, from start to finish. An earlier post on ancient lamps was my guide and the first photo here shows ancient Roman and Parthian lamps. I so want one of these lamps — they produce a nice glow, have a pleasing scent, do not get hot, and I’d promised myself one. This one is larger than the originals and I plan on glazing the bottom half. As you can see from the photo, the old ones are unglazed and this is because these peoples had yet to invent glaze. I will glaze the bottom half because I don’t want oil seeping through the porous clay and staining surfaces I may set the lamp upon, like tablecloths. Thinking about either turquoise or burgundy on the bottom half, which will contrast nicely with the Navajo Red clay. I’ll use underglaze with a clear glaze over it and will show you the lamp in use when it’s finished!

Tags: ancient history, Ceramics, hand-built, Oil lamp, Olive oil, olive oil lamps, Parthians, Romans, terra cotta