On further investigation, Mr Breuer-Weil found that an almost identical version of his purchase had been discovered years ago in the excavations of King Herod’s palace. The only other example of a similar piece is owned by the Israel Museum in Jerusalem.
“I’ve been collecting pieces from the Second Temple period for 20 years and have always been looking for something like this,” Mr Breuer-Weil said. “When I saw it, I couldn’t believe it. When you compare the details with the other version, you can see that they probably came from the same mould.”
Both lamps have 17 spouts indicating it was made for a large room in a major public building.
The art collector, who is also an artist, said he was planning to offer the lamp on extended loan to the Jewish Museum in Amsterdam.
“This is a very important piece of Jewish cultural heritage — the last flowering of indigenous Jewish art in that period. One can only say it is priceless,” he said.
