D.M. Bailey, Greek and Roman Pottery Lamps (London, 1972).

D.M. Bailey, Catalogue of the Lamps in the British Museum,  vol. 1 - Greek, Hellenistic and Early Roman Pottery Lamps (London, 1975).

D.M. Bailey, “Pottery Lamps”, in: D. Strong and D. Brown (eds), Roman Crafts (London, 1976) 93-103.

D.M. Bailey, A Catalogue of the Lamps in the British Museum, vol. 3 - Roman Provincial Lamps (London, 1988).

2012.08

Roman Lamp

Purchased in  Syria and on loan from Emeritus Professor Graeme Clarke 

Length 9cm; width 6cm; height 2.5 cm

Intact, in good condition; some flaking at sides. Mould-made lamp with concave discus, two concentric grooves around the filling hole and radiating grooves to four concentric grooves on top. Vestigial lug handle, shallow volutes to sides of round-tipped nozzle. Flat base stamped with obscured maker’s name.

This lamp features the maker’s name stamped underneath, both an advertisement and a trademark (D.M. Bailey, Greek and Roman Pottery Lamps (London, 1972) 23). Unlike some other ancient lamps on display (such as 1974.08), this lamp does not exhibit any charring around the nozzle tip from use. D.M. Bailey suggests that unused lamps could be especially purchased to place in graves; such sites are the source for many extant ancient lamps (Greek and Roman Pottery Lamps (London, 1972) 12).

The inclusion of side lugs on some handleless ancient lamps may originally have been to improve grip, but over time this function was lost and lugs reduced in size and became simply decorative (D.M. Bailey, Catalogue of the Lamps in the British Museum, vol. 1 (London, 1975) 14). The present lamp, with its vestigial lug, may exemplify this. 

The export of lamps made in Italy had largely ceased by the beginning of the second century AD. In provincial areas, such as Syria, lamps were mostly locally manufactured. Italian designs were often copied, however (D.M. Bailey, Greek and Roman Pottery Lamps (London, 1972) 19). For a comprehensive coverage of provincial Roman lamps, including from the Levant, see D.M. Bailey, ACatalogue of the Lamps in the British Museum, vol. 3 (London, 1988).

See 1987.02 for a Roman Imperial mould for making the upper part of a lamp, and for a useful description of the manufacturing process, see D.M. Bailey, “Pottery Lamps”, in: D. Strong and D. Brown (eds), Roman Crafts (London, 1976) 93-103.

On loan from Emeritus Professor Graeme Clarke (received 9 March 2012)