How to Make an Egyptian Lamp
In the ancient world, lamps weren’t powered by electricity but by oil. Like the ancient Chinese, Greeks and Romans, the ancient Egyptians used oil lamps; theirs were made of clay and linen wicks and powered by olive oil or castor oil. They were first shaped like saucers or bowls and then later like little tea pots – with a spout where the wick was placed, a hole in the middle for adding more oil and a small handle with which to hold the pot. Some were plain while others featured Egyptian decorative motifs. You can easily make your own version at home.
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Things You'll Need
- Clay
- Bowl filled with water
- Knife
- Scissors
- White linen cloth
- Olive oil
- Funnel
- Matches or a lighter
Instructions
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Early Egyptian Oil Lamp
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1
Roll a piece of clay between your hands until you create a round ball. Flatten the ball into an even disk like a small plate.
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2
Dip your fingers in the water. Curve the outside edges of the clay disk up to make a shallow bowl. Pinch one end together to create a wick spout.
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3
Carefully mold Egyptian motifs onto the surface of the lamp with your hands if you so desire. Consider a dung (scarab) beetle or the winged mother goddess Isis.
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4
Cut a thin strip of the linen cloth for the wick. You can also use cotton if linen is unavailable.
Late Egyptian Oil Lamp
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5
Roll a piece of clay between your hands until you create a round ball. Flatten the ball into an even disk like a small plate.
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6
Place your fist lightly on the bottom of the clay disk. Bring the east and west sides of the disk inward toward each other. Then bring the north and south sides of the disk only slightly toward each other. Remove your fist. This creates the lamp-pot interior.
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7
Dip your fingers in the water. Pinch the west end together to make a wick spout, form the east end into a handle (using more clay if you need) and gently enclose the pot at the top.
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8
Create a hole in the middle of the lamp with a knife or another sharp instrument.
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9
Carefully mold Egyptian motifs onto the surface of the lamp with your hands if you so desire. Consider a dung (scarab) beetle or the winged mother goddess Isis.
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10
Cut a thin strip of the linen cloth for the wick.
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1
Tips & Warnings
Small oil lamps can burn for several hours.
Expose more of the wick to make the flame bigger, and hide more of the tip of the wick to make the flame smaller.
Keep the lamp out of the reach of children.
If the lamp gets knocked over, the wick will continue burning in the olive oil, but the flame will not spread via the oil.
References
- Photo Credit Photos.com/Photos.com/Getty Images
