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Identification and Creation

Object Number
1960.578
Title
Lamp: erotic scene
Classification
Lighting Devices
Work Type
lighting device
Date
1st century
Period
Roman Imperial period, Early
Culture
Roman
Persistent Link
https://hvrd.art/o/290641

Physical Descriptions

Medium
Terracotta
Technique
Mold-made
Dimensions
8.3 x 7.1 x 2.8 cm

Acquisition and Rights

Credit Line
Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Bequest of David M. Robinson
Accession Year
1960
Object Number
1960.578
Division
Asian and Mediterranean Art
Contact
am_asianmediterranean@harvard.edu
Permissions

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Descriptions

Description
Mold-made lamp with voluted nozzle, most of which is broken. The lamp stands on a circular, flat base. The shoulder is rounded, and the rim is small and plain with a single groove surrounding a concave discus. The discus is decorated with a scene of lovemaking featuring a male-female pair on a bed; the woman is kneeling, supports herself on her elbows, and looks down; the man is kneeling and approaches the woman from beyond with his right arm slightly back. There is a filling hole at the bottom of the discus beneath the decoration. Buff clay with brown glaze that has mostly disappeared.

Depictions of lovemaking were frequent in Roman art, both public and private, appearing especially in dining settings, including on cups and frescoed walls, in public baths, and on common household items, such as lamps and ceramics. The form of this lamp corresponds with Broneer Type 22.

Publication History

  • Fogg Art Museum, The David Moore Robinson Bequest of Classical Art and Antiquities, A Special Exhibition, exh. cat., Harvard University (Cambridge, MA, 1961), p. 39, no. 339

Verification Level

This record was created from historic documentation and may not have been reviewed by a curator; it may be inaccurate or incomplete. Our records are frequently revised and enhanced. For more information please contact the Division of Asian and Mediterranean Art at am_asianmediterranean@harvard.edu