Terracotta oil lamp

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Loeschcke Type 1A. Mold-made. Deep concave discus: a sea monster, winged and with a snake-like body, breathes fire (?) before the gate of a walled city, defended by small figures bearing shields and a raised sword; below the monster, rising obliquely from left to right, are waves (?); a single filling hole between monster and city gate, with a band of lines and grooves around the edge. A narrow, funnel-like channel runs from the discus to the back of the nozzle. Volutes flanking angular nozzle, with a large wick hole. Broad, raised base ring, and flat base, with the raised letter T at center. Complete, except for some wear on edge of discus. This lamp, depicting a sea monster before a walled city, is very similar in date, style, and illustration to the lamp 27.94.5 in this case.

Greek and Roman Art

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

The Museum's collection of Greek and Roman art comprises more than thirty thousand works ranging in date from the Neolithic period (ca. 4500 B.C.) to the time of the Roman emperor Constantine's conversion to Christianity in A.D. 312. It includes the art of many cultures and is among the most comprehensive in North America. The geographic regions represented are Greece and Italy, but not as delimited by modern political frontiers: Greek colonies were established around the Mediterranean basin and on the shores of the Black Sea, and Cyprus became increasingly Hellenized. For Roman art, the geographical limits coincide with the expansion of the Roman Empire. The department also exhibits the art of prehistoric Greece (Helladic, Cycladic, and Minoan) and pre-Roman art of Italic peoples, notably the Etruscans.

Metropolitan Museum of Art