Roman Oil Lamp in the Academic Art Museum Bonn (Inv. 596)

The lamp, dated to the second half of the 2nd century/the early 3rd century AD, is of Italic production and its findspot is unknown. Since the 3rd century BC lamps were made of clay in moulds of the top and bottom side, attached to each other an fired. They are lens-shaped, have a projecting spout and show a rich ornamentation in relief on the top side. The hole in the top side was used to fill in the oil while the hole in the spout held the wick. The Romans used vegetable oil, especially from olives. The relief on the top side of the Bonn example shows in the background some multistoried buildings next to the water. In the foreground on the left there is a fisherman standing on rocky ground who casted a net. On the right side there is another fisherman sitting in a boat.