Lamp with Christ and the Apostles
Artist
Unknown
Date5th–6th century
MediumTerracotta, red slip
DimensionsL. 5 5/8 in. (14.3 cm)
ClassificationsCeramics
Credit LineGift of Mr. and Mrs. Gordon Hanes
Object numberG.79.6.8
On View
On viewHere the seated figure with the hand raised in benediction is identified as Christ. (In early Christian/Byzantine periods, Christ is often short-haired and beardless.) The surrounding figures are his apostles. Interestingly, this lamp shows no sign of use and, like similar lamps found in early Christian cemeteries in Carthage (Tunisia), may have had a funerary purpose.
[C. Rocheleau, "The People's Collection, Reimagined," 2022]ProvenanceSale, New York, Sotheby Parke Bernet, May 19, 1979, lot 173, illus. (b-w); sold to Mr. and Mrs. Gordon Hanes, Winston-Salem, NC; given to NCMA, 1979.Published ReferencesSotheby Parke Bernet Sales Catalogue # 4253 (May 19, 1979), illus. no. 173.Exhibition HistoryRaleigh, NC, North Carolina Museum of Art, “Recent Acquisitions,” November 5, 1979-May 1980.
Raleigh, NC, North Carolina Museum of Art, “Reflections on Light: Works from the NCMA Collection,” September 9, 2020–August 15, 2021.
Raleigh, NC, North Carolina Museum of Art, "The People's Collection, Reimagined," October 7, 2022–present. Object Rights Statement
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