Late Roman Bronze Oil Lamp with Duck Head Handle

Late Roman Bronze Oil Lamp with Duck Head Handle

5th-7th century A.D. Hollow-formed slipper-shaped oil lamp with central filler hole and short nozzle, basal ring; the handle formed as a duck's head with open beak. Cf. for the type (but with different handle) Gökalp, Z.D., ‘Some examples of Byzantine bronze lamps in Turkish Museums’ in Actes du 1er Congres International d’etudes sur le Luminaire Antique (Nyon-Geneve, 29.IX-4.X.2003), Monographies Instrumentum 31, (2005), pp. 69-71, figs.3-4-5-6, pl.30. 143 grams, 87 mm (3 3/8 in.).

Acquired on the German art market, 1989-1995. with The Museum Gallery, 19 Bury Place, London, WC1A 2JB, 1998-2003. Property of a London based academic, 2003-present.

The lamp belongs to the category of lamps with flattened spherical bodies, that have a certain number of variations in their nozzle, handle, lid and base designs. The most common form, like here, is that in which the body is heightened towards the front to form the nozzle. Many examples have oyster shell shaped lids which are connected to the body with hinges.