Making A Roman Oil Lamp 

Glad it was helpful!

Thank You!

Wonderful!

Glad you like them!

Hi Christopher, they need to be fired before they are lit, but you can see the lamp being lit in one of our other videos. Watch it here ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-xxUwOx0OqfI.html

Hi, the archetype lamp is hand-formed, and then a mould is taken. However, you can tweak the mould after it is made by carving into its surface. This is something that we often do to refine any small details that have been lost during the moulding process.

On another video it was said use a saucer .

Hi, as these lamps are made of earthenware clay, they are porous, and so some oil will leak through the lamp onto the surface below. So, it is always best to have them on a plate or tile to avoid staining furniture. There is also evidence that these lamps were sealed before use. You can learn more about that here ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-xxUwOx0OqfI.html

Hi, Thank you for watching. You need to form a master copy of the lamp in clay and then make a mould of this. Good luck :)

Hi, we have made this mould out of plaster for durability, but most Roman lamp moulds were made from clay, with only a few examples of plaster moulds.

In this case plaster but we also make and use fired clay molds.

@@PottedHistory Thanx :) Love your work

Good question. As with all our replicas it was made from scratch using, as far as possible, the same methods that the makers of the original would have used. So in this case an Archaeotype was hand modelled, that was used to make the mould and this lamp made from that mould.

Here is a link to a phot of the lamp if you would like to have a look…. drive.google.com/file/d/1tlEkGNVJ5kKTmIefLVHpIZueGxu9NTQ0/view?usp=drivesdk

Not sure that will work, but gave it a try… the photo I mean.

Hi Sorry for the delay in responding. I'd probably hesitate before using an ancient lamp, but it's true to say that, with occasional exceptions, they are generally not rare finds. With care it should go on working although the oil and the heat will eventually cause it to deteriorate.

Pressing the clay into the mould in this way results in an even surface with deeply pressed decoration. Using a slab of clay causes folding as the slab tries to bend round the corners and because less pressure is needed it fails to pick up the finest detail of the design. The technique is also attested by the archaeological evidence of the makers fingerprints on the insides of the lamps.

Hi, You can sign up for our commission list, and we will be able to get more details of your requirements and give you a quote. Click the link and then fill in the details of your request, and we will get back to you as soon as we can. You can sign up here potted-history.us17.list-manage.com/subscribe?u=4dfefd107974ceb185f2cdbbf&id=40776e46fa

You can also own one of our authentically hand-crafted replicas by visiting our website potted-history.co.uk

90% of Roman lamps were mould made, it's a technique that predates the Romans and was used by the Greeks and Egyptians before them. Roman pottery technology was very advanced.

We make all the molds ourselves and don't generally sell them, but I think it's about time we made a video showing you how to make your own. So watch this space.

@@PottedHistory ok please make a video on it and if you plan to sell it please can I buy it ?

@@PottedHistory do you offer classes to learn pottery making online ?

We do. htttps://potted-history.co.uk

It Doesn't say "How To"! It says "Making A Roman Lamp" and that's what we do, we make replicas of ancient ceramics and show you how we do it. In this case a lamp, but we also made the mould, and the archetype from which the mould was made.

And probably should add: And that's exactly how the Romans made them!

I meant: how do you make the mold? Anyone can put clay inside a mold - how does one make the mold. Don't worry I will make something and cast plaster around it, obviously but I'm sure there is more to it than that. I just can't believe you thought it was compelling content @@PottedHistory

Good for you @@PottedHistory

@@alimay1011 790 hours of view time would suggest otherwise! I suggest that you avoid wasting any more of your time watching any of our other content.

We make all the molds ourselves and don't generally sell them, but I think it's about time we made a video showing you how to make your own. So watch this space.

@@PottedHistory So generous of you.. I put myself in your position. You explore the ancient craft and recreate the tools, in this case the molds to cast the roman style oil lamps. Which are used to produce a product of your online business. And then of course you get the requests by some to buy these molds. I can feel a bit of a pain there. Because you already showed everything of the skills and process to make the lamps.. and then you are asked to even sell the tools. Hmmm... what to do ? I think I would not like to sell tools. It's just the first feel I get. But there are persons out there who (still) lack the skills to make their own tools which is indeed not that difficult.. and you would like to help them too. Myself I already do casting items and mold making. And I discovered these nice oil lamps online in museums collections with plenty of information about designs and history. I became interested by these items and started to consider making some. Especially because the decorative central designs would be fun to do while always using the same basic pattern for the lamp itself. Looks in fact quite feasible to me. I will have more fun to create a variety of central designs than assembling the clay parts. I look forward to carve the prototypes into blocks of Paraphine. Which gets hard enough for serving as a plug for mold making and allows the sculpturing of fine details. Anyhow during my research I tried to get confirmation about my idea how the oil lamps may have been done. I thought among other scenarios that maybe the ancient potters filled the lower lamp part with something prior to the gluing of the top part. In your video this appears to not be necessary. So finally I also discovered your channel and really I am still happily suprised that you are so friendly to share your skills as part of your online presence. Thank you!