Roman erotic oil lamp - Symplegma replica with Thraex weapons after Vindonissa and Cologne models
In brief
This Roman picture lamp is a terracotta replica of a 1st-century AD volute lamp. The discus relief shows a symplegma in the riding position (mulier equitans), with the woman also carrying a small rectangular shield (parma) and a sickle-shaped curved dagger (sica), the typical equipment of a Thraex gladiator. Comparative pieces have been published from the legionary fortress of Vindonissa in Aargau and from the Romano-Germanic Museum in Cologne.
Roman erotic lamp at a glance
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Authenticity level: Historical replica (level 2). Terracotta like the ancient model, mould-pressed, a free adaptation of the published symplegma lamp with gladiatorial weapons, without a 1:1 cast of any specific individual find.
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Material: Terracotta, mould-pressed, slipped and hand-patinated
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Dimensions and weight: L 7.8 x W 4.6 x H 2.4 cm, approx. 80 g
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Dating of the model: 1st century AD, early to middle Imperial period
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Best-known model: Symplegma picture lamps from Vindonissa (Aargau, Cantonal Archaeology) and from Cologne (Romano-Germanic Museum)
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Ancient source: Martial, Epigrammata V, 24 (Hermes, the favourite of the ludiae among the gladiators)
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Suitable impression: Civilian household of the early Imperial period on the Italian peninsula and in the western provinces, with additional suitability for a 1st-century AD soldiers' contubernium (Vindonissa, Lower German army, Hispanic auxiliary units)
What does the discus relief on this Roman erotic lamp show?
The image on the discus of this picture lamp belongs to the symplegma tradition of the early Imperial period, that is, to the standard Roman production of erotic pictorial motifs on lamps from the last third of the 1st century BC onwards. A woman sits in the riding position on her reclining partner while holding the small rectangular shield (parma) and the sickle-shaped curved dagger (sica) of the Thraex. Scholarship knows this image composition from the legionary fortress of Vindonissa in present-day Aargau (Cantonal Archaeology Aargau, Brugg) and from the Rhineland provincial context of Cologne, where the Romano-Germanic Museum preserves a comparable piece.
How does current scholarship classify the motif?
In her 2023 study Sexual art on Roman lamps in the Journal of Roman Archaeology, lamp archaeologist Sanja Vucetic documents this variant as a local reworking of the standard symplegma of the early Imperial period. The woman not only takes the active position, but also receives the male-coded gladiatorial weapons, the sica and parma. Vucetic reads the scene as a deliberate reversal of the usual visual pattern, in which the man has the active role, and interprets the composition as a humorous, pointed comment within a military consumer context. The Vindonissa pieces were found in the refuse-fill layers of soldiers' barracks, leaving the precise place of use open (barrack, camp tavern, civilian household in the vicus). According to Vucetic, the consumer context is primarily the soldierly milieu of the early Imperial period.
Which reading is not compatible with the find image?
Older sales texts have described the image as showing a prostitute with knife and shield above a defeated gladiator asking for his missio with a raised finger. This reading does not withstand archaeological scrutiny. The woman's seated posture clearly follows the mulier equitans standard scheme of erotic picture lamps and is not aggressively combative. The supposedly pleading finger corresponds in the visual tradition to the gesture of surprise in symplegma reliefs, not to the missio gesture from the arena. Anyone wishing to integrate the lamp into a historically sound display narrative should start from the scholarly reading in Vucetic 2023 and not perpetuate the popular gladiatrix sales story.
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Original material: Terracotta with orange slip, mould-pressed from a two-part mould
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Original type: Volute lamp of the Loeschcke series (nozzle form with double volute, picture lamp with relief-decorated discus)
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Original dating: 1st century AD, mainly Augustan to Flavian according to the Vindonissa layers
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Original find context: Legionary fortress of Vindonissa (Aargau), Colonia Claudia Ara Agrippinensium (Cologne), soldier and veteran contexts on the Iberian peninsula
How do the documented symplegma lamps with gladiatorial weapons differ?
| Findspot |
Dating |
Repository |
Iconographic variant |
Suitable attribution |
| Vindonissa, Aargau |
1st century AD, Julio-Claudian to early Flavian |
Cantonal Archaeology Aargau, CH-5200 Brugg |
Woman in riding position with sica and parma, around three published examples |
Legionary and auxiliary impression on the limes |
| Cologne, CCAA |
1st century AD |
Romano-Germanic Museum Cologne (RGM) |
Comparative piece from a Rhineland provincial and veteran milieu |
Lower German army and early provincial town |
| Iberian peninsula |
1st century AD |
Various museums, compiled in Vucetic 2023 |
Variant line in a Hispanic soldier and veteran context |
Hispania Tarraconensis and Lusitania, auxiliary units |
| Standard symplegma without weapons |
Late Augustan to Claudian |
Vindonissa, inv. 41.276, 3431, 3432 |
mulier equitans in the standard version without weapons |
Comparative horizon of Italian mass production |
Roman erotic lamp in display practice
The piece is a small picture lamp with a discus relief that fills the format, easy to handle and effective at close viewing distance. Active use as a burning lamp is not intended for this replica. Its impact comes entirely through the image motif, and the ancient original too was consumed primarily as an image carrier, not as a lighting device in the narrower sense.
Suitable impression: Civilian household of the early Imperial period (Italian peninsula, western provinces) and soldiers' contubernium of the 1st century AD (Vindonissa, Lower German army, Hispanic auxiliary units).
Use area: Display case, caupona staging, insula set-up for adult formats, table scene with other picture lamps. Not for school workshops, children's birthday tours or mixed audiences with families.
Conservation set-up: For display-case positioning only, with no burning or demonstration use. Protect from direct sunlight and from rubbing on the slip.
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Use in a collector's display case: Place the lamp on a neutral plinth with the discus relief facing the viewer, supplemented by a short label with a Vucetic reference for the correct scholarly reading.
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Use in civilian reenactment: On the table of a caupona or insula reenactment, combined with other erotically coded picture lamps from the standard Pompeian repertoire.
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Use as a thematic anchor: A collection corner on the "Roman picture-lamp repertoire of the 1st century AD" with standard symplegma, gladiator lamps and this hybrid special variant as a bridge between the two image classes.
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Known weaknesses of the reconstruction: The replica freely adapts the motif and does not reproduce it 1:1 from a specific individual find. Lamp form and slip tone follow standard product conventions, not a verified cast from Vindonissa or Cologne. In addition, two readings of the image scene compete: the archaeological reading in Vucetic 2023 (erotic symplegma with inversion gesture) and the older sales reading (gladiatrix with missio man). Only the former is suitable for a presentation that stands up academically.
What uses is the lamp suitable for?
- A collector of ancient curiosa integrates it into a display case on 1st-century AD picture-lamp production, provided the corrected scholarly reading is included in the label and the popular gladiatrix story is deliberately avoided.
- A reenactment group builds it into a caupona, lupanar or insula setting for adults-only formats and consistently keeps it out of school-class workshops and family tours.
- Living-history performers focusing on the soldierly milieu of the early Imperial period use it as cultural-historical evidence for the consumption of erotic picture lamps in Vindonissa and CCAA contexts, provided the presentation frame is age-appropriate.
Secondarily suitable for film production, stage research and art-historical studies of antiquity, provided the Vucetic reading is communicated as the current state of research.
Frequently asked questions about the Roman erotic lamp
How does the Vindonissa evidence differ from the Cologne evidence?
Both findspots show the same image motif from the 1st century AD, the woman in riding position with Thraex weapons. In Vindonissa, the pieces come from the refuse-fill horizon of the soldiers' barracks. In Cologne, the find context lies in the urban camp and veteran milieu of early CCAA. The distribution covers both the Lower German and the Upper German-Raetian army.
How should a terracotta replica of this size be stored properly?
The lamp belongs in a low-dust display case at normal indoor humidity, away from direct sunlight and sharp temperature changes. The slip is pressure-sensitive, so place it on a soft support and do not wipe across the relief surface. For dust removal, use a soft brush rather than wiping with moisture.
Which impression suits this lamp?
Well-supported uses include a civilian household of the early Imperial period on the Italian peninsula and in the western provinces, as well as soldiers' contubernium settings with adult audiences. Lower German army impressions fit through the Cologne evidence, while Hispanic auxiliary impressions fit through the Iberian evidence. Pure family and school formats are unsuitable because of the sexually explicit image scene.
How strict is the replica's link to the find evidence?
The replica freely adapts the published motif, without a 1:1 cast of a specific original from Vindonissa or Cologne. The lamp form follows the standard volute form of the Loeschcke series, while the discus relief takes up the symplegma variant with gladiatorial weapons documented by Vucetic 2023. Collectors who work with strict find-based criteria should state this openly on the display-case label.
Can the lamp be used as a burning lamp or for demonstrations?
No. The lamp is designed exclusively for display-case positioning, without active firing and without demonstration use. Slip layers tolerate burning heat poorly, and the image scene requires age-restricted use.
External sources and literature on the symplegma lamp with Thraex weapons
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Vucetic, Sanja (2023): Sexual art on Roman lamps: analysis of provincial data, in: Journal of Roman Archaeology 36/1, pp. 23 to 49. DOI 10.1017/S1047759423000193. Open Access. Main evidence for the variant with Thraex weapons in Vindonissa, Cologne and on the Iberian peninsula.
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Loeschcke, Siegfried (1919): Lampen aus Vindonissa. Ein Beitrag zur Geschichte von Vindonissa und des antiken Beleuchtungswesens. Zurich: Beer & Cie. Full text via the HathiTrust Digital Library. Typological basis for all comparative picture-lamp finds from the Swiss legionary fortress.
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Bailey, Donald M. (1980): A Catalogue of the Lamps in the British Museum II. Roman Lamps Made in Italy. London: British Museum Publications. Standard reference for Italian picture lamps, including symplegma variants and stamps.
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Romano-Germanic Museum Cologne: Image documentation of the Cologne variant via Wikimedia Commons. Comparative piece to the Vindonissa tradition from the Rhineland provincial context.
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Ancient source: Martial, Epigrammata V, 24, Latin full text at The Latin Library. The gladiator Hermes as the favourite of the ludiae, evidence for the erotic charge of the gladiator concept in the early Imperial period.
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Updated on: 13/05/2026
