Lamp with Floating Female Figure

Artist Unidentified

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

Place of OriginPorta Pinciana, Rome, Italy

Date1st-2nd century CE

Dimensions1 1/4 × 3 3/8 in. (3.2 × 8.6 cm)

Mediumearthenware / ceramic with red glaze

ClassificationUtilitarian Objects

Object number

1908.30

Not on View

DescriptionMolded lamp of clay with female figure in low relief.

Label TextA female figure stands on tiptoe within the concave medallion of this oil lamp. The flow of her veil and drapery suggests movement, as if she is floating. In her left hand, she holds an inverted torch, and in her right, a bundle of poppies or wheat. While she may represent a specific goddess, she could also be a more generic figure, a common feature in Roman art across different media. This oil lamp was reported by the found at the Porta Pinciana, an area of modern-day Rome.Published ReferencesPerlzweig, Judith, Lamps of the Roman Period, 1st to 7th Century after Christ; The Athenian Agora, vol. VII, Princeton 1961, no. 36, p. 75.

Comparative ReferencesA lamp of the identical motif found in Eleq, Israel: https://www.antiquities.org.il/t/Item_en.aspx?pic_id=2&CurrentPageKey=5007&indicator=qeljcsjb (Silberstein N 2000. Hellenistic and Roman pottery. In: Y. Hirschfeld, Ramat Hanadiv Excavations, Final Report of The 1984-1998 Seasons. Jerusalem, 420-469, Plate XIII: 1.) A lamp of the identical motif in the Muret collection in France: https://digitalmuret.inha.fr/s/collection-muret/agorha/263184 (A. Kapeller, A. Pomari, Promenade antique de l’Égypte à Rome [cat. expo., 15 janvier - 19 mars 2000, Lausanne, Espace Arlaud], Lausanne, 2000, n°80b p. 124-125)