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Natural Clay - Page 3 - Making A Small Oil Lamp
Why A Lamp?

I've chosen to make a number of stereotypically ancient-style items - a cooking pot, a lamp, a small bowl or cup and a decorated tile - mainly because these are the sorts of items that would historically have been made for open-pit firing - with the exception of the tile, they're going to be items of utility

How Long To Dry?

The pot I made yesterday has dried somewhat - although the clay is still quite damp and soft, the piece has stiffened and set into shape. I would be able to apply a scratched or pressed design now, but not alter the shape without re-wetting the clay and starting over. I don't know how long it will take to dry the pieces ready for firing, but we're nowhere near that point yet.


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Starting with a golfball-sized piece of clay, I made a thumbpot - the easiest kind of small pot to make - the trick being to work it gradually into shape, rather than plunging your thumb right in and trying to force it.


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Next, the pot is pinched at one side, to form a handle - not all ancient oil lamps had one of these - they were typically small enough to be simply held in the hand.


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Then the pot is drawn out and pinched at the other side to form a crude spout. A disc of clay is formed for the lid.


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A hole is made in the lid - this is where the oil will be poured in when the lamp is finished and fired.


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The lid is joined to the top rim of the lamp body and blended in by smoothing over with a finger - as with the pot, the join here is not a superficial layer of smoothed-over clay, but a pressing together of the two pieces.


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Finally, with the lid blended in all around, the wick spout is built up a little further and the whole thing smoothed as neatly as possible without crushing it.

The piece will be allowed to dry slowly in an unheated cool room - ready for firing.


Work continues on the next page, with the construction of a small cup and a tile.

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