Object Description
A beautifully rendered Ancient Roman North African terracotta oil lamp, featuring a decorated central discuss. The ovoid body leads to a rounded nozzle, with a deeply recessed canal at its centre. The shoulders are flattened and decorated with a palm-branch motif. A short, narrow lug handle is positioned to the rear of the lamp, characteristic of its style. The central discuss is decorated with a writhing serpent, which can be classed as a Leviathan, its dragon-shaped head and arched neck with spikes clearly visible. Two filling holes perforate the discus. The reverse features a raised circular foot, connected to the handle, known as a ‘patera’. A maker’s mark or workshop stamp sits in the middle, a palm-branch motif.
Date: Circa 5th-6th century AD