Stone Pedestal Lamp from Oxford: 12th century

This large and highly decorative stone oil-lamp, with saucer or "cresset" for the oil raised on a column surrounded by Romanesque pillars, the whole mounted on a base with a cartouche or emblem of juxtaposed "X" symbols, is unique in England. It was found below ground at the time of the rebuilding of the Town Hall in 1897. The style strongly suggests the 12th century, and a rich, or religious, source. In fact, the whole reminds us of a Norman baptismal font in miniature.

The Victorian Town Hall in which the Museum of Oxford is situated was previously the site of an 18th-century Town Hall, which succeeded a Medieval Guildhall incorporating stone houses of Oxford’s Jewish quarter along St Aldates. The Jews arrived with the Normans as their financiers; their houses had of necessity to be well-built of stone, to ensure security for their families and possessions - they were forbidden to own or farm land. Worship took place in a room of the home of one of the community, and was centred upon a manuscript of the Old Testament and the Eternal Light. Possibly this elaborate stone lamp, ideal for positioning in a niche or on a table, held such a light. It is worth remembering in this context that twisted pillars are thought to have been popular in Norman architecture because of their supposed resemblance to the pillars of King Solomon’s temple in Jerusalem.