Lamp with a frieze of military equipment at The British Museum, London

myminifactory

Lamps were crafted in ancient lands from the Bronze Age onwards. They lit up homes, shops, public buildings such as temples and bathhouses; lamps marched in religious processions, were dedicated at shrines and placed in tombs. Ancient lamps came in various materials like terracotta, metal, stone and glass. From Minoan times until about the 7th century BC, open bowls with a wick-rest at the rim were used. Terracotta lamps were wheelmade until the 3rd century BC, when the first mouldmade lamps emerged in Greek lands. Thereafter, most classical lamps were mass-produced in moulds until the Arab conquests of the 7th century AD; lamp workshops popped up in nearly every town. Bronze lamps, made as one-off objects by the lost-wax process, could be very simple or extremely complex. Conical glass lamps of late Roman times, with floating wicks, hung suspended in holders. This mouldmade lamp is decorated with a frieze of military equipment; the handle-ornament features an acanthus-palmette. This object is part of "Scan The World". Scan the World is a non-profit initiative launched by MyMiniFactory, through which we are building a digital archive of fully 3D printable sculptures, artworks and landmarks from across the globe for the public to access for free. Scan the World is an open source community effort, if you have interesting items around you and would like to contribute, email stw@myminifactory.com to learn how you can help. Scanned using Photogrammetry (Processed with Agisoft PhotoScan)