1920.44.33: Lamp

Identification and Creation

Object Number

1920.44.33

Title

Lamp

Classification

Lighting Devices

Work Type

lighting device

Date

50-100

Period

Roman Imperial period, Early

Culture

Roman

Persistent Link

https://hvrd.art/o/292523

Physical Descriptions

Medium

Terracotta

Dimensions

5 x 10 x 7.3 cm (1 15/16 x 3 15/16 x 2 7/8 in.)

Provenance

Recorded Ownership History

Miss Elizabeth Gaskell Norton, Boston, MA and Miss Margaret Norton, Cambridge, MA (by 1920), gift; to the Fogg Museum, 1920.

Note: The Misses Norton were daughters of Charles Elliot Norton (1827-1908).

Acquisition and Rights

Credit Line

Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Gift of the Misses Norton

Accession Year

1920

Object Number

1920.44.33

Division

Asian and Mediterranean Art

Contact

am_asianmediterranean@harvard.edu

Permissions

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Descriptions

Description

Mold-made Roman lamp. Flat base encircled by groove with a sandalled footprint at the center. Rounded walls form mid-volume reservoir and meet rim at a blunt, obtuse angle. Rim is rounded and slopes upwards. Concave discus separated from rim by two incised grooves. Original concave discus is broken away and has been filed away to fit the front-facing head of a satyr, in similar fabric, which has been glued into place. Round, protruding nozzle squared where it meets rim. Short channel runs between nozzle and edge of discus. Bottom half of vertical pierced handle is original, but upper portion has been restored in plaster.

Buff fabric with slip ranging from dark orange to dark brown. Slip is mottled in patches. Discus decoration of similar fabric with slip of slightly lighter and warmer colors.

Dimensions include restored handle.

Subjects and Contexts

• Roman Domestic Art

Verification Level