Terracotta oil lamp

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Loeschcke Type 1A. Mold-made. Discus: in high relief, winged Nike (Victory) standing, facing left, holding inscribed shield over altar; a single filing hole at center right behind Nike, with a band of lines and grooves towards edge. Volutes flanking angular nozzle. Within raised base ring, outlined by two incised circles, a flat base, with incised letters across center: FAVSII. On the shield in Latin is a New Year's wish for good fortune and happiness for the owner: ANNV / NOVM FAV/STVM FEL/ICEM MI/HI. Intact. On discus, winged Victory with inscribed shield. On the base is incised the name of the lampmaker: FAVSTI; he had workshops in Italy, Egypt, and Petra, as well as in Cyprus.

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