Probably Mesopotamia - found at Ur.
The fabric of the lamp is lightweight, with several chaff marks on the surface. It is made of a medium/fine levigation featuring black inclusions. Colours: 10YR7/3; slip ca 2.5Y8/2 (Munsell colour system).

Provenance: Excavated at Ur, from Sir Charles Leonard Woolley's excavations, 1922-1934.

Oil lamp, ceramic, wheel-made, maker unknown, Ur, Persian period, 540 BC.

The lamp has a round body with plain sides, a slightly flared neck featuring a ridge at the bottom and an uneven base. The surface of the lamp is covered with a pale cream slip. It has two pieces missing from the rim and the end of the spout is broken. It shows evidence of being used, with burn marks at the end of the spout.

Excavated by Sir Charles Leonard Woolley, Director of the Joint Expedition of the British Museum and the Museum of the University of Pennsylvania, in Ur, Mesopotamia (Iraq).

Made: Ur, Mesopotamia; 540 BC - 320 BC

"P" is written on the side in black ink. This presumably means "Persian", perhaps written by Woolley's team, or by MAAS when first accessioned.

A5652

540 BC - 320 BC

83 mm

146 mm