Collection Item

From:UC Teece Museum of Classical Antiquities

Name/TitleLamp

About this objectThis lamp features a circular oil chamber with off-centre filling hole and a concave discus with a well-worn relief decoration. The clay has been left bare, with no slip, and the surface has discoloured a light grey. Blackening around and beneath the nozzle show the lamp has been used.

The lamp was produced in Tarsus, capital city of the Roman province of Cilicia, on the southern Mediterranean coast of modern Turkey. Cilicia had been the seat of the Ancient Kingdom of Armenia, but the area was a haven for pirates. When the pirates began attacking Roman towns and shipping vessels, the Roman senate decided to deal with this threat. In 103 BCE the first campaign against the pirates was successful, and Rome had a foothold in the territory. Yet it was not until Pompey (Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus) achieved his decisive victory in 67 BCE that the pirates were finally driven out and the entire region came under control as the new Roman province of Cilicia.

This example is typical of small discus lamps produced in Tarsus. The bulk of those known were excavated there and only a few have been found outside southern Turkey, most notably in Cyprus.

A number of decorative motifs were used within the discus of lamps of this type, including animals and flowers. Interestingly, this lamp reveals a blurred but just visible erotic scene of two figures within the discus. Similar scenes were often reproduced on lamps in the early Roman period. This particular lamp may be unique, as no other erotic image has been found on lamps of Group XVIII from Tarsus. A well-worn mould used to create the relief adds to the blurring, however it indicates the image may have been popular at the time to have worn the mould details away.

Date Made100-225 CE

PeriodImperial (Roman)

Place MadeTurkey

Place NotesTarsus, Cilicia

Medium and MaterialsCeramic: Pottery

Style and IconographyRoman

TechniqueMolding (forming)

MeasurementsLength 71mm; Width 57mm; Height 22mm

Subject and Association KeywordsSex in art

Named CollectionThe James Logie Memorial Collection, University of Canterbury, New Zealand

Object TypeLamp

Object number196.04

Copyright LicenceAll rights reserved