Roman FORTIS Terracotta Oil Lamp

LATE 1ST CENTURY A.D.

3 3/4 in. (77.7 grams, 96 mm).

A factory lamp with flat-topped oval body, broad flat shoulder and small concave plain discus; flat bottom with Latin inscription 'FORTIS'. [No Reserve]

Provenance

From the collection of a High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, UK, gentleman, circa 2000.

Literature

Cf. identical lamp with similar inscription in the Museum of Bologna (Italy), inventory no.6259.

Footnotes

At the end of the 1st century B.C., in the Po Valley, began the industrial production of Firmalampen, i.e. lamps signed on the bottom in relief noting the place of production or fabrica. The signature FORTIS, visible on this specimen, is one of the most documented and is attributable to the workshop of L. Aemilius Fortis, recently discovered to have been in Mutina (Modena).

CONDITION

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LOT 0696