New photography by Shannon Ruff captured with a digital camera-2006.

Beaker

Manufacturer Unknown

CultureRoman Empire | Eastern Mediterranean

Date4th-5th century

MediumGlass

DimensionsOverall: 6 in. (15.2 cm)
Overall, Rim: 2 7/8 in. (7.3 cm)

Credit LineGift of Walter P. Chrysler, Jr.

Object number71.6830

On View

Chrysler Museum of Art, Gallery 116-1, Case 2

Label TextLate Roman Empire Oil Lamp or Beaker 4th-5th century A.D. Blown glass with hot applications Gift of Walter P. Chrysler, Jr. 71.6830 Cone-shaped vessels like this one were made across the eastern and western provinces of the Roman Empire. Archeologists have found evidence of their use as both lamps and drinking vessels, although not within the same household. This vessel was likely used as a lamp in the Eastern Mediterranean. It was filled with a combination of olive oil and water, which helped cool the glass and increased the optical effects when illuminated. Glass lamps burned longer than clay lamps, an advantage in Jewish households where lamps could not be re-lit during Shabbat. Along with household use, cone-shaped lamps were used in polycandelon to illuminate large spaces, such as churches, tombs and synagogues. Published ReferencesCorning _Journal of Glass Studies_, VI, 1964, pg. 158, #11, but with cutting too, listed as 3rd or 4th century A.D. Roman Empire Eastern Mediterranean (Byzantium?).