Roman Terracotta Oil Lamp with Chi-Rho Monogram

£ 695.00

A fine Roman terracotta oil lamp from North Africa, featuring an elongated oval body with a circular discus, decorated with a Chi-Rho monogram above a concentric circle. A raised ridge encircles the discus and extends outwards around the nozzle hole, repaired, forming a broad channel. The beaded Chi-Rho monogram at the centre is flanked on either side by two small filling holes. The shoulders of the lamp are decorated on both sides with a series of five concentric circles, with a quatrefoil design at the centre. Each row terminates with a leaf, which points towards the large nozzle hole. A repaired solid spike-like handle, flattened on each side, sits at the top of the lamp, and the lamp sits on a ring foot.

This lamp is classified as Hayes II A.

Date: Circa 5th-6th Century AD
Provenance: From the H.L. collection, Rhineland, since 2000
Condition: Fine condition. Remains of sinter at points of repair to the nozzle and handle. Encrustation and some minor chipping throughout, particularly to the edges and the ring foot.

In stock

SKU: CF-63 Category: Tags: , ,

The earliest oil lamps made from clay can be dated back to the Bronze Age, to around the sixteenth century BC and by the Roman period, oil lamps, or lychnus, from the Greek λυχνος, were commonplace throughout the Empire. They were used for domestic, public, and religious purposes, including funeral ceremonies, lighting up businesses, and creating ‘special effects’ at the theatre. The oldest Roman lamps date back to the third century BC, and it is thought that they were influenced by the Southern Italic style. These were more enclosed than their predecessors, allowing for further decoration on the discus. The vast trade networks set with the expansion of the Roman Empire allowed this item to be spread across Europe, Eastern Asia and Northern Africa, which led to the development of several provincial variations.

This style of oil lamp originated in North Africa, specifically Tunisia, but was broadly exported and then imitated all over the Roman Empire. The Chi-Rho motif here is one of the earliest forms of a Christogram, consisting of the first two capitalised letters in the Greek word for Christ (Christos or ΧΡΙΣΤΟΣ). This monogram was used frequently throughout the Late Roman Empire, found on everything from mosaics to signet rings.

To discover more about oil lamps in Antiquity, please visit our relevant blog post: Lighting The Way.

Weight 190 g
Dimensions L 13.9 x W 7.9 x H 4.5 cm
Culture

Region

Pottery and Porcelain

Reference: For a similar item,The J. Paul Getty Museum, item 83.AQ.377.269

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