Oil Lamp in the Shape of the God Harpocrates, 100 CE - 300 CE
Terracotta
1.75 x 8
L.0249
Further images
Harpocrates was the Hellenized form of the ancient Egyptian child god Horus, symbolic of kingly power and divine protection. This elegant lamp may have been shaped in the workshops of...
Harpocrates was the Hellenized form of the ancient Egyptian child god Horus, symbolic of kingly power and divine protection. This elegant lamp may have been shaped in the workshops of Alexandria and then exported to other parts of the roman empire. As the glow from the lamp warmed some ancient room, so the benevolent power of the god was thought to fall where the light did. This masterpiece is a charming token of the vanished world of antiquity.