38.1908: Lamp

Identification and Creation

Object Number

38.1908

Title

Lamp

Classification

Lighting Devices

Work Type

lighting device

Date

1st century BCE

Period

Roman Republican period, Late, to Early Imperial

Culture

Roman

Persistent Link

https://hvrd.art/o/293465

Physical Descriptions

Medium

Terracotta

Technique

Mold-made

Dimensions

11.5 × 6.5 cm (4 1/2 × 2 9/16 in.)

Provenance

Recorded Ownership History

Lent by the Misses Katherine B. and Mary D. Upham, March 14, 1908.

Acquisition and Rights

Credit Line

Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Loan from Estate of Donald Upham and Mrs. R. U. Hunter

Object Number

38.1908

Division

Asian and Mediterranean Art

Contact

am_asianmediterranean@harvard.edu

Permissions

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Descriptions

Description

Mold made Roman lamp. Raised ring base. Maker's inscription--an upper case N with concentric circles at its ends, one to its left, and a single circle between the lines of the N--on concavity of base. Underside of donut-shaped reservoir curves outward and upward to meet curved rim. Rim covered with small, raised dots in 5 rows. Concave discus offset by a thick, raised ridge. Central filling hole surrounded by another, smaller, raised ridge. Below discus, three separate small concentric circles decorate a stretch of the rim devoid of raised dots. Below these dots is a long nozzle with a flaring, oval end and large, round wick hole.

Orangish-tan clay with shiny brick-red slip with a soapy feel. Some traces of burning around wick hole. Nozzle with some vague, dark streaking.

Excellent preservation.

Commentary

LIVE LIKE A ROMAN: DAILY LIFE OBJECT COLLECTION

Artificial lighting in the Roman Empire was accomplished with torches, candles and lamps. Torches were used outdoors, while candles made of wax were used mainly in areas that did not have olive oil. Lamps were the most common means of light, used all over the Empire, but especially where oil was produced or imported.

Lamps range from decorative to functional, though all utilize the same basic features. The oil chamber inside holds the fuel, while the hole at the top is for filling. There is usually a nozzle and a wick-hole for wicks that were made of fibrous materials, most often linen. Lamps themselves could be made in bronze, lead, iron, gold, silver, glass, or stone. However, the most common construction material for lamps was pottery. Though they could be made by hand or on a potter's wheel, they were most often constructed in molds.

First, the maker would construct a clay archetype of the lamp that would be solid, not hollow. Then a plaster mold would be made of the archetype. The mold would often be two parts, an upper and lower part, that wet clay could be pressed into to make a new lamp. When the clay was leather-hard, additional decorations, stamps, or handles could be added, and the wick and filling holes were pierced. A coat of slip was put on before the lamp would be fired in a kiln.

Lamps were distributed both by local workshops and by export from specialty workshops. There is some archaeological evidence for specific names of workshops and their trade routes, but still much is unknown about these factories. Sometimes makers left marks on the bottom of their lamps, which can help archaeologists in determining where the lamp was originally from.

[Jessica Pesce 8/5/10]


For similar maker's marks, see Bailey, D. M. A Catalogue of the Lamps in the British Museum, vol. I, Q714 and Q715 and pp. 326 and 339-340, and pl. 2. Bailey attributes this series of marks to one of probably a few central Italian workshops active in the first century BCE (p. 326).

It is difficult to find an exact shape parallel for this lamp among the terracotta examples. It is much more similar in shape to several of the metal lamps of this period. See, for example, Bailey vol. IV, nos. Q3544 and Q3553.

[Andreya Mihaloew 7/22/08]

Original file states: "possibly fake (?)"

Subjects and Contexts

• Roman Domestic Art

Verification Level