XX01
Roman
from Pompeii
1st Century B.C.E. – 1st Century A.D.
Clay
Maximum length: 13 cm
Thickness of body: 3 cm
Diameter: 8 cm
Description:
This volute-nozzle lamp, from the estate of Mae Keller, is from Pompeii and is most likely from around the first century B.C.E. or first century A.D. It is mold-made from a buff-colored clay, which appears to have once been painted in a reddish glaze or slip. The body is shallow and closed, with a small, off-center hole and a relief of a dancing woman in the center, framed by four rings. The nozzle protrudes from the body, flanked by volutes at the base and reaches out to form a round top pierced with a hole. At the opposite end of the body is a small, circular loop handle decorated with three bands.
Discusssion:
The dancing woman in the middle wears a long, flowing garment that swooshes around her head and flows around the circular frame. Her left hand is held down, holding what appears to be a sash or some sort of material from her chiton. Her right hand is raised and holds what seems to be a bundle of some sort of wheat or grain. The figure is probably some type of mythical figure, a common depiction on ancient lamps. While it is uncertain who she is specifically, it has been suggested that she could be some type of Maenad or female devotee of the god Dionysus. However, most maenads in ancient art are depicted holding a staff embellished with ivy and wearing the skin of a panther.
Comparanda:
British Museum inv. no. Q 946 (Bailey, Donald M. A Catalogue of the Lamps in the British Museum Vol 2: Roman Lamps made in Italy. London: British Museum, 1980, pg. 181, Plate 19, Fig 23, 111, 112)
Athenian Agora excavation inv. no. 36 (Perlzweig, Judith. The Athenian Agora Volume VII: Lamps of the Roman Period. Princeton: The American School of Classical Studies at Athens, 1961, pg. 75, Plate 2, fig. 36)
For a lamp with similar shape (handle, body, and volute spout) in the ROMQ Reference Collection, see http://www.romulus2.com/lamps/database/lamp.php?134
Research by Amy Nicholas, '11
