Roman oil lamp, 1st–2nd centuries A.D.

Roman oil lamp, 1st–2nd centuries AD.
Terracotta.
Provenance: M.S. private collection, Barcelona.
Measurements: 10.2 cm long
The objects in the M.S. collection in Barcelona were acquired over a period of twenty years from various galleries and auction houses in Europe.
The word “lucerna” 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, then on a potter’s wheel, and from the 3rd century B.C. onward, using a mold. The mold consisted of two dies, one for the upper part and the other for the lower part. The mold-making technique involved pressing the clay into the dies and then joining the two parts together. Finally, the handle was added.