Minoan stone lamp
Stone-carving developed in Crete during the 3rd millennium BC. Initially, soft stones were used (chlorite, serpentine, steatite), but gradually artisans devised methods of working hard stones too (including marble, alabaster and even rock crystal).
In the 2nd millennium BC, Minoans stone-carvers produced a variety of forms, including lamps for the illumination of interior spaces. Lamps were of various sizes and types, but they all had a central cavity for the oil (or different fuel, e.g. animal fat or wax) and two or more wick cuttings. Most impressive are the lamps with tall columnal pedestal, like the one in the photo. They could reach 50 cm in height and were among the largest stone vessels ever produced in Minoan Crete. They were made of serpentine and occasionally of other materials (marble, limestone, antico rosso) and were probably used as fixed lighting devices. They are found in palaces and houses of the Neopalatial period (17th -16th c. BC). The illustrated lamp has been made of serpentine and had two solid lugs under the wick cuttings
Unpublished
