6th-7th century A.D. A copper-alloy lamp with openwork thumb pad, bull's head modelled in relief to the lid, balustered stem and tripod foot with the feet modelled as lion paws. Cf. Ross, M., Catalogue of the Byzantine and Early Mediaeval Antiquities in the Dumbarton Oaks Collection, I: Metalwork, Ceramics, Glass, Glyptics, Paintings, Washington D.C., 1962, cat.137; Buckton, D. (ed.), Byzantium, the Treasures of Byzantine Art and Culture from British Collections, British Museum, 1994, p.108-9, no.199, for similar type of stand; Bailey, D.M., A catalogue of the lamps in the British Museum, IV, Lamps of metal and stone, and lampstands, London, 1996; Israeli, Y., Mevorah, D., Cradle of Christianity, The Israel Museum, Jerusalem, 2000; Gökalp, Z.D., ‘Some examples of Byzantine bronze lamps in Turkish Museums’ in Actes du 1er Congres International d’etudes sur le Luminaire Antique (Nyon-Geneve, 29.IX-4.X.2003), Monographies Instrumentum 31, (2005), pp. 69-71, fig.8, pl.30, for similar example in the Istanbul Museum, with identical bull head protome on its oil hole lid; other examples of the same type can be seen in Berlin (Wulff, O., Altchristliche und mittelalterliche byzantinische und italienische Bildwerke, Teil I: Altchristliche Bildwerke, Beschreibung der Bildwerke der christlichen Epochen, Konigliche Museum zu Berlin, Band III, Teil II, Berlin, 1911, nos.783, 784, 785, pl.XXXIII). 1.04 kg, 26.5 cm high (10 1/2 in.). Acquired between 1970 and 1993. Private Swiss collection. Accompanied by an archaeological report by Dr. Raffaele D'Amato. Accompanied by an old lot tag 'A159 / 1263'. This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by AIAD certificate no.11334-189852. These lamps were placed on tables or on lampstands, but they could also be hung with a cord or placed in separate, sometimes long bases. Here the lamp stands on a high and flaring base, with a tripod foot of stylised lion's paws, a ‘draped’ lower element and a baluster shaft. This was the basic shape of the late Roman stands (Bailey, 1996, pls.138-139). A hole in the bottom of the lamp had a metal inner lining and attachment to fit over the spike of the lampstand. For this specific lot, 5% import VAT is applicable on the hammer price [A video of this lot is available to view on Timeline Auctions Website.]