Trilicne oil lamp with dancer (72254)

Trilicne oil lamp with dancer (72254)

Loeschke XIX type, subtype B. Trilicne. Cylindrical body with horizontal shoulder and short raised rim, large infundibulum with lid consisting of a flat surface with raised edge and, at the centre, a disc which is also raised on which stands a male statuette shown in full relief wearing a short loincloth and a pileus. The figure is depicted while dancing, balancing his right leg on the base, while his left leg is raised and thrust right back as is the head and the back which are in an extreme state of torsion. The left arm is raised with the fingers open, while the right arm is bent at the elbow, carrying a chain with a hook on the end. The three long spouts at the join of the body have delicately engraved spirals. The handle has a double row of piping with a heart-shaped leaf at the end while higher up, in a central position, there is a long thin palmette with three lobes on an acanthus bush; there is another palmette with five lobes on acanthus volutes The lamp has a tall cylindrical foot interrupted by a ring with a bell-shaped base. This type of lamp was extremely widespread in many zones of the Roman Empire from the Claudian period to the late second century AD.