Rare authentic clay lamp, Judaea, Byzantine period, 6th-8th century AD - early Christian type with "The light of Christ shines on us all" inscription,

102mm long, Palm-tree design on the nozzle, Greek inscriptions meaning "The light of Christ shines on us all".  It shows signs of original use, with clay deposits inside and outside and some environmental damage, no restoration. Labelled "No.2" on the back with a pencil by the collector. Comes with our certificate and guarantee of authenticity. SKU-XL0012

It comes from an early Christian class of lamps with a Christian Greek inscription. They were used all over ancient Judaea, probably in churches and at homes of Christians. The overall design was fairly uniform, but the quality of the legend varied according to the abilities and talent of the potter. The legend on this lamp is very crude, though it is clearly based on the crude Greek legend on the more legible type. Fascinating ancient Christian artifact from Judaea. Ref. Noam, A. Oil lamps of the holyland, from the Adler collection. pg. 150.

This particular piece comes from a Canadian estate collection of a collector of Judaica.