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LOT 0119
Roman Bronze Oil Lamp with Masks
1ST-2ND CENTURY A.D.
6 1/8 in. (560 grams, 15.5 cm).
With an elongated body, long nozzle with a rounded tip; raised rim to filling hole with hinged lid bearing a mask with sockets to the eyes for silver inserts; handle curved and terminating in a female mask with hair dressed in tiers, eyes recessed to be inlaid with silver; broad nozzle with cup and raised rim; socket to underside for mounting on a stand.
ProvenanceFrom the collection of a gentleman, acquired on the London art market in the 1990s.
PublishedExhibited at the Harwich Museum, Harwich, Essex, UK, 8th June 2026-14th September 2026; accompanied by a copy of a photograph of the artefacts on display.
LiteratureCf. Rolland, H., Bronzes Antiques de Haute Provence, Paris, 1965, no.357.
FootnotesThe lamp is crafted in a very fine style, probably in a classical form from the 1st or 2nd century. It belongs to a type known and widespread in the Mediterranean, with parallels in Paris, Madrid, the museums of Cadiz, Tarragona, and Aquileia.
CONDITIONTimeLine Auctions follows a vetting process to ensure the authenticity and legality of all items, reinforcing our commitment to integrity and responsible trading. Each antiquity, antique, and coin lot undergoes thorough examination by a vetting committee of at least ten external specialists, professional trade association members, scientists, and archaeologists: Our Vetting Process
AUCTIONS:
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LOT 0119
Roman Bronze Oil Lamp with Masks
Estimate £1,000 - 1,400€1,160 - 1,620 (for guidance only)$1,350 - 1,890 (for guidance only)
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These small fragments, for analogies with the fragments of Pompeii, seem to belong to the second style of Roman painting, red panels representing highlight and shadow, decorated with vegetal interlaces. Some panels were probably framed by a red grenade fillet. A fragment shows alternate blue and red colour over a cream background, maybe pertinent to a socle. -
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A mixed group of ceramic bullae, tesserae or theatre tokens bearing low-relief motifs, mainly consisting of profile busts of deities. 36.2 grams total, 13-22 mm
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The term 'tessera' was used in Roman times to convey the Greek term σύμβολον (token). Small tiles are known as tokens, often shaped like coins, made of metal (copper, lead, iron), clay, bone, wood, or glass, stamped as well as engraved. The tokens, however, are not exclusively coin-shaped, as the Latin term 'tessera' refers to a four-sided shape. Tokens and tesserae seem to have been used both in Athens and Rome for the distribution of goods. According to written sources, the term ‘token’ is identified with credentials of the official authorities. They have also been interpreted as tokens of identity, as entrance tickets to theatre performances, tribunals or assemblies of citizens, archival material of seal engraving, as pawns in games, Charon’s obols and even as amulets.
