Ancient Roman oil lamp

Ancient Roman oil lamp

Ancient Roman oil lamps were small devices, typically made of terra cotta, that were used by the ancient Romans for artificial light. They were fueled by olive oil, and had anywhere from one to a dozen wicks. Many had handles so they could be carried from room to room, and also so they could by carried by actors in plays or by participants in various ritual activities.

Ancient Roman oil lamps often contained molded reliefs of erotic scenes, gladiators, mythical characters, or floral patterns. These lamps were fairly popular, since they could be released as collectible sets (for example, a set of lamps with a different god on each lamp), and because they were relatively cheap (they were typically mold made instead of hand-crafted, so they were not as expensive or time-consuming to produce).

External links

* [http://www.ripon.edu/academics/art/clark/LAMP.html The Ripon College Clark Collection]

* [http://www.romulus2.com/lamps/lampcat/lampcat.shtml Ancient Lamps]


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужно решить контрольную?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Oil lamp — Neolithic stone lamps in Thousand Lamp Museum in Qiandeng town of Kunshan …   Wikipedia

  • lamp shell — n. [from its resemblance to an ancient Roman oil lamp] any of various brachiopods …   English World dictionary

  • lamp shell — noun marine animal with bivalve shell having a pair of arms bearing tentacles for capturing food; found worldwide • Syn: ↑brachiopod, ↑lampshell • Hypernyms: ↑invertebrate • Member Holonyms: ↑Brachiopoda, ↑phylum Brachiopoda …   Useful english dictionary

  • lamp shell — a mollusklike marine animal; brachiopod. Also, lampshell. [1850 55; so called because its shape was thought to resemble that of an ancient Roman oil lamp] * * * …   Universalium

  • ḤANUKKAH LAMP — (also known as ḥanukkiyyah and Ḥanukkah menorah). The central ritual of the eight day Festival of Ḥanukkah is the kindling of a lamp that has receptacles for eight lights, one for each night. A ninth receptacle, called the servitor or shammash,… …   Encyclopedia of Judaism

  • Homosexuality in ancient Rome — Male couple on an oil lamp Same sex attitudes and behaviors in ancient Rome often differ markedly from those of the contemporary West. Latin lacks words that would precisely translate homosexual and heterosexual. The primary dichotomy of ancient… …   Wikipedia

  • Sanctuary lamp — A sanctuary lamp, altar lamp, everlasting light or eternal flame is a light that shines before the altar of sanctuaries in many denominations of Jewish and Christian places of worship.[1] Prescribed in Exodus 27:20 21 of the Hebrew Bible, this… …   Wikipedia

  • Olive oil — Not to be confused with the cartoon character Olive Oyl. Olive oil A bottle of olive oil Fat composition Saturated fats Palmitic acid: 7.5–20.0% Steari …   Wikipedia

  • Modena — For other uses, see Modena (disambiguation). Modena   Comune   Comune di Modena …   Wikipedia

  • Societal attitudes toward homosexuality — Should homosexuality be accepted in society? Percentage of responders that answered accept:   81% 90% …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
… Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”