Oil lamp with possible Christian iconography

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Oil lamp with possible Christian iconography
Oil lamp with possible Christian iconography
Date4th-7th century
MediumTerracotta
DimensionsOverall: 3 1/4 × 2 3/8 × 7/8 in. (8.3 × 6.1 × 2.2 cm) Spout: 9/16 in. (1.4 cm) Base: 1 5/16 in. (3.4 cm)
Credit LineIsaac Hollister Hall, Class of 1859, Collection. Transferred from the Hamilton College Archives; Gift of Janet M. Bates.
Object number2015.6.20
Not on view
DescriptionMold-made oil lamp with two pouring holes and an unpierced handle. Vessberg Type 18. Grapes and grape vine motif around shoulder. Discus depicts a nude man facing forward holding a jar in his lowered right hand and with an amphora below his raised left arm. Possibly Christian iconography referencing Jesus Christ's Miracle at Cana where he turned water to wine.

Additional Details

Exhibition History 2015
Clinton, NY. Ruth and Elmer Wellin Museum of Art, Hamilton College. "Archive Hall: Art and Artifacts," May 2015 - ongoing (no catalog).
Provenance 2013: Hamilton College (Archives), by gift of Janet M. Bates;
1999: Janet M. Bates, by bequest of her husband, George P. Bates;
?: George P. Bates, Class of 1936, by gift or bequest of his mother, Mary Hall Bates;
?: Mary Hall Bates, by gift or bequest of her father, Isaac Hollister Hall;
1875-77: Isaac Hollister Hall, by gift of General Luigi Palma di Cesnola;
1875-77: excavated by General Luigi Palma di Cesnola
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