CULTURE / REGION OF ORIGIN: Roman Empire; North Africa.
DATE: Later 2nd - Early 3rd Century CE.
DIMENSIONS: 9.7 cm (3.8 in.) long; 7.5 cm (2.9 in.) wide

DESCRIPTION: Intact. A mould-made Roman pottery oil lamp, the discus depicting the goddess Diana as a huntress accompanied by two leashed hounds bounding to the right. A small fill hole occupied the center of the discus, with a smaller air circulation hole positioned beneath the figural scene. The slightly downward sloping shoulder is covered with a modified ovalo design. The lamp has a short round nozzle with a large round wick hole and a high arched loop handle at the rear. A simple volute-like design decorates the underside of the nozzle, while the slightly concave base is defined by three concentric circles, with a further two tiny concentric circles at their center. There is slight wear and only minor loss to the brick red slip.

PROVENANCE: Formerly in a Welsh private collection formed between the 1970s and 2008.

PUBLISHED: Bonhams, London, ANTIQUITIES, 29 April, 2009, Lot #308, listed and illustrated on Page 175.

COMPARISONS: See the Nakayama & Orseti Collection in Tokyo, online at www.itca.co.jp/museume/roman-lamps3 for a related type with Diana