Roman Cnidian Terracotta Oil Lamp

Rectangular wooden tablet, probably cedarwood, the outer side divided by a sulcus into a smaller part with names of witnesses and a greater part with 11 lines of inked text in Roman cursive script; three small holes near the rim, two in the sulcus, one on the right rim; the inner side with a recessed panel filled with wax with traces of writing; in an excellent state of preservation with signs of age. 24.97 grams, 13.5 x 14 cm



Acquired by Albert Sfez in the early 1950s. Formerly the property of Monsieur Alain Sfez, a Belgium collector; acquired by gift from his father Albert Sfez, in 1965. Acquired by a London dealer in 1973. From an important London collection since 1975; thence by descent. Accompanied by a copy of an illustrated academic report by Professor Dr phil. Peter Rothenhöfer.

Professor Dr Peter Rothenhöfer, Department of History (Zhuhai Campus) states: 'This important tablet shows that its use was apparently not restricted to the administrative sphere but widely spread in civic life and used for private purposes. As handwritten documents from the late 3rd and 4th century AD are quite rare, this tablet is generally of great importance for the history of Latin palaeography. The text is fluently written and shows a uniform typeface. Typical features of ancient writing can be observed: The text is continuously written without any separation between words (scriptio continua), sentences have no dots at the end.' Wax tablets written in Greek or Latin, were used by Romans as account registers (codices accepti et expensi); for transactions (for example, the tablets of the banker Lucius Caecilius Iucundus found in Pompeii); for lists of goods, inventories, and notes to be kept and archived; for Roman magistrates to annotate the salient events of their bureaucratical activities; for writing letters; for drawing up legal texts of various kinds: legacies, declarations of births and citizenship, reports of trials and diplomata militaria; and especially testaments in private civil law.

Comprising eight lamps, including one with four nozzles and a crescentic reflector, one wth a bust of a young woman, and one with a five-petalled flower. 867 grams tptal, 4.5-17 cm



From an important collection of lamps, Germany, 1970s.

With discoid base, angled stem and ridged finial. 26.9 grams, 37 mm



Ex German art market, 2000s. Acquired from an EU collector living in London. From the collection of a Surrey, UK, gentleman.