Image Details

Sabbath lamp. Both the base (see photograph) and the top (shown here) of this Beit Nattif lamp are magnificently decorated with a variety of non-representational designs. The top shows evidence of an adaptation that allowed the lamp to be lit just before dusk and then to stay lit until the following evening, so as to provide continuous light on the Sabbath without breaking the prohibition against working on that sacred day. A clay pipe, now broken off, was inserted into the bowl of the lamp at the back, just above the handle, opening into the bowl of the lamp. The other end of this pipe—now missing—was originally connected to a reservoir of oil. As the oil in the lamp burned, additional fuel from the reservoir would flow in to take its place.