Slender and graceful, elegantly simple, this glass lamp may have burned during the Golden Age of Byzantium. The bulb in its base was meant to hold a wick, while the cylindrical body held oil and protected the flame against the wind. The translucent glass, colored sea green, must have cast a soft light. If we close our eyes, we can imagine the vanished rooms warmed by its light, the people who drew comfort from its gentle glow. An age-old metaphor for joy, for hope, for life itself, such a lamp survives today, as an enduring symbol of man's desire to conquer the darkness.