The humble pottery oil lamp was a common household object in the ancient world. Burning olive oil as a fuel, lamps were used to light up domestic spaces as and when they were needed between dusk and dawn. It would be rare for an average home not to contain at least a few lamps. In the homes of the rich, elegant bronze and silver lamps lit up the night, but for most people, cheaper pottery imitations of these metal lamps sufficed. The fuel they consumed, low grade olive oil, was at times hard to come by. In the late 4th century Saint Augustine, at the time living in Italy, alludes to the excessive cost of lamp oil, a commodity which only the rich could afford. ‘Burning the midnight oil’ was a privilege of the rich, not of the common man and woman. Those who couldn’t afford lamp oil would either burn tallow or wax candles or avoid activities needing night-time illumination.

Despite their relatively simple form, pottery lamps were not without embellishment. Scenes of mythology, the natural world, everyday life, and athletic sexual activity were commonly moulded into their design. These images were meant to entertain and amuse the night-time viewer, more often than not a dinner guest, a drinking companion, or a lover. More sombre uses of lamps included their placement in tombs as a symbolic gift of light for those journeying to the Underworld, or as an aid to night-time study.

In the Early Christian era, oil lamps decorated with biblical scenes and religious symbols became increasingly popular. We can easily picture Augustine in his modest home in Hippo (modern Bône in Algeria) hunched over a manuscript in the flickering light of an oil lamp like the one shown here, decorated with the XP monogram of the Christian faith.