Lamp with Jupiter, Juno, and Minerva

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Lamp with Jupiter, Juno, and Minerva

Artist Unidentified

Period Roman Empire (Ancient Roman, 27 BCE-395 CE)

Place of OriginItaly, Rome

Date2nd-3rd century CE

Dimensions4 1/8 in. (10.5 cm)

MediumTerracotta

ClassificationUtilitarian Objects

Credit LineGift of Dr. Arthur F. Bissell

Object number

1912.1257

Not on View

DescriptionA mold-made ceramic oil lamp with a circular body and a short, rounded nozzle. The central discus features a relief scene of the Capitoline Triad: Jupiter seated in the center holding a scepter and thunderbolt, flanked by Juno and Minerva. The shoulder is undecorated. The lamp entered the collection with a handle in the shape of an eagle, which conservation and curatorial analysis in 2003 and 2015 confirmed to be an "ancient but alien" addition—a pastiche likely created to enhance the object's market value before its 1912 acquisition.

Label TextThis humble clay lamp bears the image of Rome's most powerful gods: the Capitoline Triad. In the center sits Jupiter, king of the gods, flanked by his wife Juno and daughter Minerva. This trio was worshipped at the great temple on Rome’s Capitoline Hill, symbolizing the heart of the Roman state. The appearance of such grand imagery on a mass-produced household object suggests how deeply state religion permeated daily life.Exhibition HistoryCedar Rapids Museum of Art, Art in Roman Life: Villa to Grave, Sept. 2003 - Aug. 2005.

The Dayton Art Institute, The Roman World: Religions and Everyday Life (featuring the Brooklyn Museum exhibition: Tree of Paradise: Jewish Mosaics from the Roman Empire), Sept. 21, 2007 - Jan. 6, 2008.

Comparative ReferencesLamp with Capitoline Triad in Antikensammlung Munich: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Staatliche_Antikensammlungen_M%C3%BCnchen_885.JPG Lamp with Capitoline Triad in Spurlock Museum at UIUC: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Lamp_depicting_Jupiter,_Juno,_and_Minerva,_Roman,_France,_1st_century_AD,_terracotta_-_Spurlock_Museum,_UIUC_-_DSC05769.jpg