1966.15

Sicilian Lamp

From the Woite Collection; probably from the area of Gela, Sicily. Ht 1.9cm; preserved length 6.1cm; diam. 4.2cm.

The end of the nozzle is broken away. Soft cream-buff clay with dark inclusions. Vertical wall with in-turned rim. Unpainted. There is no evidence of use.

Despite their differences in detail, these three small lamps all belong to the same basic type characterized by its relatively large nozzle and, more especially, by the very simple body with more or less vertical wall and lack of any form of cover. Their chronology is not entirely secure but they most likely belong to the sixth century BC. An apparent counterpart in fabric as well as form is one published in the catalogue Sir John and Lady Beazley Gifts (ed. H.W. Catling et al., Oxford 1967) pl. 61, 456, but that is said to have been found at Kade Kui (ancient Chalcedon) in Turkey.

See 1966.01-1966.42 in this catalogue for all material from the Woite Collection in the ANU collection.

J.R. Green with B. Rawson, Catalogue of Antiquities in the Australian National University, A.N.U. (Canberra, 1981) 80.