Luzern; Rome, 2nd–3rd centuries A.D.

Oil lamp; Rome, 2nd–3rd centuries A.D.
Bronze.
Measurements: 7 x 11 x 8 cm.
Roman oil lamp made of bronze. As is typical of such objects, it would be filled with oil, and a wick would be lit that protruded through the spout to provide light, burning the liquid rather than the fabric used in the wick. The word “oil lamp” comes from the Greek “lukno.” Its primary function was to provide light, but it was also used as a votive and funerary object. The earliest oil lamps were made by hand, later on a potter’s wheel, and from the 3rd century B.C. onward, by casting—generally in ceramic, though there were more elaborately crafted pieces made of materials such as bronze.