Following the Light
Author:
Morgan Haros ’25Co-Authors:
Faculty Mentor(s):
Kris Trego, Classics and Ancient Mediterranean StudiesFunding Source:
n/aAbstract
The Samek Art Museum contains a collection of ancient Mediterranean lamps as part of the Turnure Collection. In my research, I first focused on a specific mold-made lamp, lamp TD2020.12.29, which I identified as belonging to an Ephesian style originating from the Eastern Mediterranean. However, further analysis of the lamp revealed that it is not of Eastern Mediterranean origin, leading me to investigate how the Ephesian style transformed throughout the Mediterranean. I started to look at similar later lamps in Italy, which then prompted me to start considering North African red-glaze pottery. Expanding my study, I explored two additional lamps in the Turnure collection, TD2020.12.38, and TD2020.12.28, which may represent two different periods of the lamp’s stylistic development. My research on the stylistic shifts then led me to look at the makers-mark on lamp TD202.12.28, which provides a connection between Italian lamp workshops and those in North Africa.