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Rare plastic Roman oil lamp part shaped as Priapus

€890
available
Object number
AR3021
Object: Fragment of a Roman oil lamp

Material: Red clay with slip

Date: About 1st century A.D.
Roman Imperial

Description:    Roman pottery figure of Priapus, god of fertility and protector of male genitalia. Priapus is depicted as a bearded older man in heavy robes, his hands exposing his phallus. The spout extended from the penis, as confirmed by carbon deposits above this area. A small spout at the back of the shoulder served as a fill-hole.
Originally, the figure was either standing on its own, or was part of a larger sculptural composition, which is more likely.

Size: Length 106 mm

Condition: Fragment, broken below the feet, the bottom remains sealed. Small part of cloak over the head missing. Small chips on filling hole and spout, carbon deposits at spout. Overall very good condition with very plastically shaped anatomic details.

References: For plastic Roman oil lamps of similar composition, see e.g.:
Bailey, Catalogue of Lamps in the British Museum, Vol. IV (London 1996) Pl. 11.
Bussiere and Lindros Wohl, Ancient lamps in the J. Paul Getty Museum (2017) Nr. 586-9

Provenance: Acquired 2020 from a US auction house. Ex Laurel Thomas collection, Los Angeles, USA. Acquired by her farther in Jordan in the 1950s, thereafter continuously in the USA.

Authenticity: We unconditionally guarantee the authenticity of every artefact, all items are subject to our lifetime return policy on authenticity.