Messapia Lamp — Pair

Inspired by the arulae — the small altars of Magna Graecia, used across the Greek south of Italy for household libations and votive offerings, and set in sanctuaries, homes and tombs alike — these pieces reimagine an ancient ritual form as a base for light.

The decoration draws on the wider Apulian idiom: the Hellenised ornament that flourished across ancient Apulia, where indigenous tradition met Greek taste. Against a deep, lustrous black ground, classical motifs — meanders, palmettes, laurel and rolling waves — are reserved in warm terracotta. We were captivated by a shape and a surface that feel equally at home in a curated contemporary setting and a collected traditional interior — timeless, quietly monumental, unmistakably Mediterranean.

Messapia (from Greek Μεσσαπία – “(the place) amid waters”) is an ancient name for the region of Salento, in southern Apulia.

All our lamp bases are unique artistic creations, individually wheel-thrown and meticulously hand-decorated with archaeological precision by second-generation Apulian master potters, devoted to keeping alive an art inherited from their ancient predecessors. Because every stage is worked by hand, the forms and patterns carry slight irregularities — the faint wobble of a freehand meander, the gentle drift of a band — just as they would have 2,500 years ago. No two examples are ever identical, even when sold as a pair.

Lamps will be fitted for the country of destination.

Please allow 3-6 weeks for completion and shipping. May be further customised at buyer's request.

Dimensions

Height to top of the base: 23.5 cm / 9.25"

Width: 21.5 cm / 8.5”

Depth: 21.5 cm / 8.5”