baby bronze oil lamp with octopus and serpent

Length: 9cm

This flexible and intelligent creature, relates to the psyche, to emotion and to intuition.

The Minoans depicted the octopus in their pottery, jewellery and frescoes, and were clearly intrigued by this silent, graceful, sinuous creature.

They depicted the octopus on their pottery and in their frescoes: the silent, graceful creature, unfurling its tentacles, moving slowly through an element that is itself constantly in motion. It makes camouflage to protect itself against predators and, if necessary, can detach a limb, which in turn will regenerate. Its ejection of black ink is designed to confuse, delude and deter.

As a symbol of healing and protection, the serpent was associated with the cult of Asklepios, god of medicine.

The Greeks feared it for its tremendous powers, but it was also revered as a defender and guardian. It was a symbol of regeneration and renewal, and the Romans later regarded it as representing the spirit, or 'genius', of the family.

The bronze pieces are cast in Greece using the traditional lost wax method. As nothing is mass-produced, there will inevitably be slight variations in texture, patina, and colour. No two pieces are ever the same. If mounted on a marble base, it will be a black or very dark grey base. There may be a variation of some millimetres in the dimensions of the base from time to time.

It's All Greek is proud to have been working with the Semitekolo family foundry since 1999. It has been a privilege to handle these gorgeous pieces and to sell them to customers all over the world.