Lovely Ancient Roman Terracotta Oil Lamp 200-400 Ad

LOVELY ANCIENT ROMAN TERRACOTTA OIL LAMP. Weight - 92.9 Grams. Size - 7.5x3.5 cm. The Roman oil lamp, a product almost unparalleled in its distribution throughout the empire, developed towards the end of the Hellenistic period and was to keep its general shape longer than any other item of pottery throughout the Mediterranean. The vast trade networks set up with the expansion of the Roman empire allowed for this item to be spread across Europe, Eastern Asia and Northern Africa.

Oil lamps were used by the Romans for mainly three reasons; to light private and public spaces, to give as offerings in temples to the gods and to be placed within a grave or funerary context. Provenance: Previously in a European collection formed in the 1980s.

---