Luzern; Rome, 3rd–4th centuries A.D.

Oil lamp; Rome, 3rd–4th century A.D.
Bronze.
Measurements: 11 x 4.5 x 4.5 cm.
Single-wick oil lamp, decorated with ivy leaves on the ring that serves as a handle and with slightly raised relief ornamentation on the spout. As is typical for these 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 “lucerna” comes from the Greek “lukno.” Its basic function was to provide light, but it was also used as a votive and funerary object. The earliest oil lamps were made by hand, then on a potter’s wheel, and from the 3rd century B.C. onward, they were cast, generally in ceramic, although there were more elaborately crafted pieces made of materials such as bronze.