Two Clay Oil-lamps found in the Convent of Jesus, Setúbal: 16th century AD

These lamps, for burning vegetable oil using a fibre wick, are simplified descendants of the Roman and Medieval oil-lamps from Portugal. They have been very simply made by pinching wheel-thrown, flat-bottomed dishes to form a spout for the wick. They have no handle and would not have been portable, but by the 16th century, candles and candle-holders would have been used while moving round the house at night. Presumably these little lamps, very cheap to light, would have provided night-lights in dark corners of the convent.

© 1998 Oxfordshire Museum Service, Setúbal Museums and the Benaki Museum