Roman oil lamp with rare scene
€540
available
Object number
AR3450
| Object: |
Oil lamp
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| Material: |
Red clay with dark red slip and nice sand patina.
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| Date: |
Second quarter 1st - early 2nd century A.D.
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| Description: |
Oil lamp with rounded nozzle decorated with half-volutes. Steeply sloping shoulder, the mirror separated from the shoulder by a single ring. Half-volutes on each side of the spout form a curved channel from the mirror ring to the burning hole. Flat base with ring indicated by two grooves. The scene in the slightly concave mirror depicts a cupid (Eros) riding a bull or other horned quadruped. The scene is highly detailed and of high quality. Such a depiction is rare; we have not been able to find a parallel in the available specialist literature. |
| Size: |
Length 91 mm, width 55 mm, height 24 mm
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| Condition: |
Perfectly preserved, nice patina.
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| References: |
For the type, see, e.g.,: Menzel, Antike Lampen im römisch-germanischen Zentralmuseum zu Mainz (1969) p. 41 Nr. 195ff. Hayes, Ancient lamps in the Royal Ontario Museum I: Greek and Roman clay lamps (1980) Nr. 316ff. We could not find evidence of the image in the mirror in the extensive specialist literature available to us, so it must be classified as rare. |
| Provenance: |
Acquired 2023 from T. Schloessner, Germany. Ex German private collection Steinbock, which was composed between 1920 and 1982 by the art historian R. Steinbock, mainly acquiring from the German art market.
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| Authenticity: |
We unconditionally guarantee the authenticity of every artefact, all items are subject to our lifetime return policy on authenticity.
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