{"product_id":"terracotta-chamberstick-classical-oil-lamp-form-incised-c-1920-1939","title":"Terracotta Chamberstick in the Form of a Classical Oil Lamp, Incised Lancet Decoration with Lime-Washed Ground, c. 1920–1939","description":"\u003ch3\u003eThe Piece\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eA small candle holder shaped as an \u003cstrong\u003eantique oil lamp\u003c\/strong\u003e — the storybook kind, squat and round with a nozzle out the front and a loop handle at the back.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe body is a broad low dome rising from a turned foot, with a \u003cstrong\u003etapering nozzle\u003c\/strong\u003e projecting from one side and an arched \u003cstrong\u003estrap handle\u003c\/strong\u003e springing from the other. At the top, where a lamp would have its filling hole, sits a small \u003cstrong\u003ecupped socket\u003c\/strong\u003e with a flared rim.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe decoration is cut into the clay rather than painted on. Fine \u003cstrong\u003ecombed vertical striations\u003c\/strong\u003e run over the whole surface, and around the shoulder sits a band of \u003cstrong\u003epointed lancet shapes\u003c\/strong\u003e — long leaf or petal forms, each outlined by a cut line and left smooth inside so it stands out against the combing. A row of short notches edges the base of the dome and the rim of the socket.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe body is unglazed terracotta, and a \u003cstrong\u003epale lime wash\u003c\/strong\u003e sits in every recess and has worn away from the raised surfaces, so the cut lines read white against a warm clay ground.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eUnderneath, the foot is turned with a clear \u003cstrong\u003espiral cut-off mark\u003c\/strong\u003e at the centre.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eHistory \u0026amp; Provenance\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eIt is a candlestick dressed as an oil lamp, and it is worth being exact about that.\u003c\/strong\u003e A real oil lamp is a closed reservoir: oil goes in a filling hole, a wick runs out the nozzle, and the flame burns at the spout. This has a \u003cstrong\u003ecupped socket on top sized for a taper\u003c\/strong\u003e, and the nozzle is solid decoration. It was made to hold a candle, in the shape of something older.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe form it is copying is the Roman \u003cem\u003elucerna\u003c\/em\u003e and its Greek and Near Eastern predecessors — low round body, side nozzle, loop handle — which stayed essentially unchanged for centuries and is one of the most recognisable objects to survive from the ancient world. Adding a handle and a socket turns it into a \u003cstrong\u003echamberstick\u003c\/strong\u003e: the candle holder you carry from room to room, with something to hook a finger through.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eThe decoration was cut by hand and it shows.\u003c\/strong\u003e The combing runs in slightly wavering passes that overlap and change direction; the lancets vary in width and length and none is a repeat of another; the notches around the base are individually struck and unevenly spaced. A press-moulded piece repeats exactly, and repeats the same flaw every time.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eThe spiral on the base is the potter's own mark.\u003c\/strong\u003e That is where a wire was drawn under the piece to cut it off the wheel head, and it is the last thing that happens before a thrown pot leaves the wheel.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eThe white is an applied finish, not an excavated deposit.\u003c\/strong\u003e A lime or gesso wash has been brushed over the surface and rubbed back, so it stays in the cut lines and comes off the high points — the standard way of making incised decoration read. Genuine burial deposit is patchy and indifferent to the design; this follows the carving exactly.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe piece carries \u003cstrong\u003eno maker's mark, stamp, signature, label or country-of-origin mark\u003c\/strong\u003e anywhere, and is offered \u003cstrong\u003eunattributed\u003c\/strong\u003e. It is \u003cstrong\u003enot represented as a working lamp or as an excavated object\u003c\/strong\u003e — it is a candlestick, made in a lamp's shape, in the classical replica trade that supplied travellers and the giftware market through the nineteenth century and the interwar decades. Dated on the wheel work, the hand incising, the applied wash and the worn-back state of that wash: \u003cstrong\u003ec. 1920–1939\u003c\/strong\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eProduct Details\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003ctable border=\"1\" cellpadding=\"8\" cellspacing=\"0\" style=\"width:100%; border-collapse:collapse;\"\u003e\n  \u003cthead\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003cth align=\"left\" style=\"text-align:left; vertical-align:top;\"\u003eField\u003c\/th\u003e\n\u003cth align=\"left\" style=\"text-align:left; vertical-align:top;\"\u003eDetail\u003c\/th\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\u003c\/thead\u003e\n  \u003ctbody\u003e\n    \u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd style=\"vertical-align:top;\"\u003eObject\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd style=\"vertical-align:top;\"\u003eTerracotta chamberstick — a candle holder with a carrying handle, modelled on a classical oil lamp. Takes a standard taper.\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n    \u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd style=\"vertical-align:top;\"\u003eForm\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd style=\"vertical-align:top;\"\u003eLow domed body on a turned foot with a solid decorative nozzle to one side and an arched strap handle to the other, rising to a small cupped candle socket with a flared rim\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n    \u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd style=\"vertical-align:top;\"\u003eDecoration\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd style=\"vertical-align:top;\"\u003eHand-incised throughout — combed vertical striations, a shoulder band of pointed lancet motifs, and struck notch borders — with a pale lime wash rubbed into the cuts and worn back from the raised surfaces\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n    \u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd style=\"vertical-align:top;\"\u003eMaterial\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd style=\"vertical-align:top;\"\u003eUnglazed terracotta, wheel-thrown, with a wire cut-off spiral to the base\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n    \u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd style=\"vertical-align:top;\"\u003eMarks\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd style=\"vertical-align:top;\"\u003eNone. No stamp, signature, label or country-of-origin mark. Offered unattributed and not represented as an antique or excavated lamp.\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n    \u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd style=\"vertical-align:top;\"\u003eEra\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd style=\"vertical-align:top;\"\u003ec. 1920–1939. Dated on the wheel throwing, the hand incising, and the applied lime wash and its worn-back state; the lamp form it copies is ancient and carries no date of its own.\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n    \u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd style=\"vertical-align:top;\"\u003eCondition\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd style=\"vertical-align:top;\"\u003eVery good. The piece is sound with no cracks, no breaks, no repairs and no restoration; it stands level, the handle is firmly set with no stress lines, the socket is clear and complete, and the incised decoration is crisp throughout. \u003cstrong\u003eExpect light wear to the tip of the nozzle\u003c\/strong\u003e, where the lime wash has rubbed back to bare clay, along with general thinning of the wash on the high points, which is how the finish is meant to age. No chips to the socket rim or the foot. Condition Guaranteed.\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n    \u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd style=\"vertical-align:top;\"\u003eAvailability\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd style=\"vertical-align:top;\"\u003eOne of a Kind — 1 Available\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n  \u003c\/tbody\u003e\n\u003c\/table\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eWhy It Belongs in Your Home\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eA chamberstick is a better object than a plain candlestick because it has a handle, and a handle changes what you do with it.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eYou can pick it up and carry it. That sounds small until there is a power cut, or until it is the thing that goes upstairs with you, or lives on a bathroom shelf, or sits by the bed. A candle you can move is a candle that gets used.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe proportions help too. It is low and wide, so it does not tip, and it sits comfortably on a narrow shelf, a windowsill, a bedside table or a stack of books where a tall stick would be precarious.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWarm clay with white in the cut lines is an easy colour. It sits on dark wood, painted furniture, stone and plaster, and reads equally as rustic or as classical depending on what is around it. Unlit it is a small piece of sculpture; the carving is worth turning over in the hand.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eA note on care, and unglazed clay near a flame needs one thing watched. \u003cstrong\u003eNever let a candle burn down into the socket.\u003c\/strong\u003e Bare terracotta absorbs molten wax, and wax soaked into a porous body cannot be got out — it leaves a permanent dark halo and it is a fire risk besides. Change the taper while there is still an inch of it.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eDo not dig wax out with anything metal.\u003c\/strong\u003e Put the holder in the freezer for half an hour and the wax shrinks and lifts away; a knife will take the socket rim off with it.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eDo not wash it, do not soak it and never put it in a dishwasher — water lifts a lime wash straight out of the incising, which is the entire decoration. Dust it with a soft dry brush, which gets into the combing better than a cloth. Keep it out of direct sunlight, and stand it on a felt pad on a polished surface.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Viridian Eclection","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":48044429017193,"sku":"VE-0718","price":145.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0651\/0093\/9369\/files\/IMG_2139.jpg?v=1789180266","url":"https:\/\/viridianeclection.com\/products\/terracotta-chamberstick-classical-oil-lamp-form-incised-c-1920-1939","provider":"Viridian Eclection","version":"1.0","type":"link"}