Lighting DevicesRoman2nd-3rd century CE

Lamp

175-225

Description

Mold made lamp. Flat, slightly raised base bounded by an incised groove. Inscription on base reads LVCCEI with a horseshoe (open end facing the inscription) below. Walls flare outward from base to form a broad, shallow reservoir. Rim slopes moderately upward and is decorated with incised rays. Two raised, flat rings, the exterior thicker than the interior, separate the concave discus from the rim. Inside of these rings is a narrow register with rays, and a narrow ridge. At the center of the discus is a raised rosette, pierced somewhat off-center. Below and to the left of the rosette is another hole of the same size. Narrow, rounded nozzle, squared and decorated with an incised zigzag at junction with discus. Vertical pierced handle with double grooves. Buff fabric with pale brown slip which is darker in grooves, and darker and mottled on underside. Some denting on underside before or during firing.

Classification

Lighting Devices

Technique

Mold-made

Medium

Terracotta

Culture

Roman

Period

Roman Imperial period

Century

2nd-3rd century CE

Division

Asian and Mediterranean Art

Department

Department of Ancient and Byzantine Art & Numismatics

Dimensions

4.9 x 10.3 x 8.6 cm (1 15/16 x 4 1/16 x 3 3/8 in.)

Provenance

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).