Back to results
632 de 958
© Museu de Badalona
Omeka ID 1908
Ciutat romana de Baetulo. Plaça de la ciutat romana
Roman world

lamp decorated with theatrical mask

MB 18049

Object type
oil lamp
Production date
75 / 160
Fabric
-
Museum
Museu de Badalona
Culture
Roman world
Discovery location
Ciutat romana de Baetulo. Plaça de la ciutat romana
Materials
pottery
Township
Badalona (Europa, Espanya, Catalunya, Barcelona, Barcelonès)
Technique
moulding
Where is it?
Exposició permanent
Dimensions
10 x 7,5 x 4 cm
Description
It belongs to the commonly called Firmalampen or channel lamps (in this case in the form Bussière C VII). The signature or brand of the lamp manufacturer, FORTIS, is clearly defined on the outer bottom of the piece, in the centre of a circle. Thanks to this manufacturer's stamp, we know that it was made in Modena (Italy), at that time in Cisalpine Gaul. This workshop made a large production of channel lamps that spread throughout the empire. It also seems that other productions were made with this brand in Lyon, Trier, Bern, Frankfurt and Rome, which were perhaps imitative workshops given the success of the lamps. In the Iberian Peninsula they are documented in places as diverse as Empúries, Mataró, Tarragona, Astorga, Palencia, Mahon, Conimbriga, and now also in Badalona, where some fragments were known and now we have this almost entire piece (only part of the beak is missing). Another characteristic of these lamps is that most do not have a handle. Some have, around the disk, two or three perforated lugs to be able to pass a cord or metal thread through them to hang them. In this case, the piece has three. The very well preserved relief decoration of a tragic theatrical mask stands out. With a high hairstyle on the forehead and long hair, a marked nose, almond-shaped eyes and an open mouth, it is characteristics of theatrical masks of the imperial era. It is one of the few models of this type that has three lugs to be able to hang it.

Related objects