Lighting DevicesRoman2nd-3rd century CE

Lamp with Animal Combat Scene

175-225 CE

Description

Terracotta oil lamp: heart-shaped nozzle with some charring. Slight ring base surrounded by two grooves. Curved rim decorated with molded wreath or a garland of bundled foliage tied at intervals. Low, projecting vertical pierced handle, in the rear, with grooves. The shallow central discus is decorated with molded relief of a lion attacking a bull. Stamp reading LCAESAE on the bottom. Orange buff fabric with traces of red-orange slip. Classification: D. Bailey, A catalogue of the lamps in the British Museum vol. II (British Museum Publications, 1988), Type Q.

Classification

Lighting Devices

Technique

Mold-made

Medium

Terracotta

Culture

Roman

Period

Roman Imperial period, Middle

Century

2nd-3rd century CE

Division

Asian and Mediterranean Art

Department

Department of Ancient and Byzantine Art & Numismatics

Dimensions

3.6 x 6.6 x 9.2 cm (1 7/16 x 2 5/8 x 3 5/8 in.)

Provenance

Walton Brooks McDaniel, New Jersey (?-1943/46) gift; to the Department of the Classics, Harvard University, (1943/46-2012) transfer; to the Harvard University Art Museums, 2007. Note: Walton Brooks McDaniel gave a portion of his collection to the Department of the Classics in 1943 and the rest in 1946. The Collection is named for his late wife, Alice Corinne McDaniel.