White Bull Roman Oil Lamp

Lamp Details

White cattle were considered of great value and importance to the Greeks and Romans and featured in several of their myths. Therefore it is little surprise that these highly prized creatures would be used as inspiration for this high statue ceramic lamp.  

Apollo had one of his sacred white cattle caught and sacrificed by the newborn Hermes, who then used the guts to make the first lyre as a gift for, and apology to Apollo. Thus adding music and song to Apollo's list of responsibilities. 

A white bull also began the tale of the Minotaur. To secure his place as king of Crete over his brother, Minos prayed to Poseidon for help. As a sign of his support, Poseidon sent a white bull to Minos so that he could sacrifice it in Poseidon's honour. On seeing the magnificent creature, Minos decided to keep the bull as part of his herd and instead sacrificed one of this own inferior bulls. Poseidon was not amused! As revenge, he caused Minos' wife Pasiphae to fall in love with the white bull, which resulted in the birth of the Minotaur.   

The continent of Europe gets its name from Europa, the beautiful daughter of King Agenor, who caught the eye of Zeus. To hide his affair from Hera, he transformed himself into a white bull and tempted Europa to jump onto his back. Once safely astride his back, the bull flew into the air heading for the isles of Greece, much to the delight of Europa, who was so thrilled by the beautiful lands passing below her that the entire continent of Europe was named after her.  

This lamp comes with one cotton wick so that you can use your lamp as soon as you have read the safety instructions. One wick will give you hours of light if used correctly, but should you wish to have more than one wick; you can purchase spare wicks by following this link: Lamp Wicks

Production

As with all our Museum Quality Replicas, we have made this pot, as the original would have been, entirely by hand from natural clay and using replicas of the types of tools that the ancient makers would have used. As each pot varies, you may not receive the vessel in the image, but you can be sure that your pot will be one of a kind due to the variations caused by the firing process. 

 Material

 White earthenware

Dimensions

Approx 215 mm long, 70 mm high, 110 mm wide

Health and Safety

Before attempting to use your lamp, you must read the operating and safety instructions. 

Burn ONLY OLIVE OIL in your lamp.

DO NOT use modern lamp oil or other flammable liquids.

Place the lamp on a stable, non-absorbent and non-flammable surface, far from any sources of heat. 

Always snuff out the flame, never blow it out. Never use water to extinguish the flame.

DO NOT attempt to move or pick up your lamp whilst it is lit.

Ensure that there are no flammable materials above or near the lamp. 

DO NOT leave your lamp unattended whilst it is lit.

Keep the wick trimmed very short to ensure a clean, bright flame and reduce the risk of fire.

This lamp is not a toy; KEEP OUT OF REACH OF CHILDREN.

Use of this lamp is at your own risk; we cannot take responsibility for accidents or injury caused by the use of this lamp.

Extinguish the lamp by snuffing it out with a metal spoon. 

 Instructions

Before filling your lamp, adjust the wick so that it does not protrude above the edge of the wick aperture.

Fill the lamp with olive oil through the filler hole in the centre (allow the wick to soak for 1 hour before lighting for the first time).

Light the lamp. If the flame produces smoke, shorten the wick. This can be done by gripping the wick with tweezers through the filler hole and gently turning it round, rewinding the wick into the wick aperture. This should not be done whilst the lamp is lit or the wick is still hot. 

Postage

All items are sent using a second class postal service; if you wish to have an item sent first class, please contact me for a quote. Many Thanks