Roman oil lamp with erotic scene - relief lamp replica, 1st to 2nd c. AD
In brief
This replica of a Roman relief lamp carries an erotic couple scene on the discus and follows a lamp type that was widespread across the Empire from the early 1st into the 2nd century AD. The model is a clay lamp from the holdings of the Musée départemental Arles antique; an almost identical original is held by the British Museum in London. Dimensions 11.2 × 7.9 × 2.9 cm, terracotta, authenticity level 2.
Roman erotic oil lamp at a glance
-
Authenticity level: Historical replica (level 2), terracotta cast in a modern two-part mould, workshop identifies the model as held by the Musée départemental Arles antique; an almost identical original has been verified in the British Museum
-
Material: Terracotta with a plain slip coating
-
Dimensions and weight: 11.2 × 7.9 × 2.9 cm, approx. 80 to 110 g
-
Date of the model: 1st to 2nd c. AD, Italic and western provincial workshop production; British Museum comparison piece precisely dated to approx. AD 10 to 30
-
Best-known model: Terracotta relief lamp "two lovers on a bed", British Museum inv. 1971,0426.3 (Bailey 1980, Q 828), made in Italy, provenance "from near Naples"; further parallels at the Musée Saint-Raymond Toulouse and the Kunsthistorisches Museum Vienna
-
Ancient source: Martial, Epigrammata XIV.39 (Lucerna cubicularis)
-
Suitable setting: civilian Domus, Taberna or Caupona display, early to middle Imperial period, Italic peninsula and western provinces
What is the story behind erotic Roman oil lamps?
Relief lamps with erotic scenes on the discus belonged to Roman everyday culture from the Augustan period onwards and appear widely from the 1st into the 2nd century AD. The most important find-based comparison piece is held by the British Museum under inventory number 1971,0426.3 and was published in Donald Bailey’s lamp catalogue as piece Q 828: a terracotta relief lamp showing two lovers on a bed, made in Italy around AD 10 to 30, with the stated provenance "from near Naples". A second, superbly documented parallel is the volute lamp of the Musée Saint-Raymond Toulouse (inv. 2000.10.29), found in 1879 in the Rue de Metz, type Deneauve IV A, early 1st c. AD. A third reference is the symplegma lamp in the Antikensammlung of the Kunsthistorisches Museum Vienna (inv. V 585), measuring 10.1 × 8.2 × 2.9 cm and therefore almost exactly matching the present replica.
The popular reflex of placing such lamps straight into a brothel is too narrow. Bailey himself noted in volume II of his lamp catalogue (1980) that erotic discus motifs occur in Italic houses, in taverns, at symposium tables and in private gift culture at least as often as in rooms identified as Lupanaria. Stefan Ritter’s more recent study of Pompeian image culture (JdI 2017) further shifts the interpretation away from an exclusively brothel-based reading.
What imagery do these lamps show?
The discus typically shows a heterosexual couple in an explicit position on a couch, often with suggested bedposts or folds of bedding. Other versions include grouped symplegmata, satirical-grotesque allegories (such as the Cleopatra crocodile scene, Loeschcke 1919 no. 428) and phallic emblems. The wide range of variants is systematically recorded in the standard typologies (Loeschcke 1919, Bailey 1980, Bussière and Lindros Wohl 2017).
Who used lamps like this?
Martial gives the most compact answer. In book 14 of the Epigrammata, in the list of gifts as piece 39 under the title Lucerna cubicularis, the bedroom lamp speaks for itself: "Dulcis conscia lectuli lucerna, quidquid vis facias, licet, tacebo", the sweet confidante of the bed, silent about all that happens (AD 84/85). Here the lamp is a deliberately chosen gift object with a knowingly playful image, not the inventory of a brothel.
-
Replica dimensions: 11.2 × 7.9 × 2.9 cm
-
Replica material: Terracotta, cast in a modern two-part plaster mould
-
Date of the model type: 1st to 2nd c. AD, core model precisely AD 10 to 30
-
Verified comparison pieces: British Museum inv. 1971,0426.3 (Bailey Q 828); Musée Saint-Raymond Toulouse inv. 2000.10.29; KHM Vienna Antikensammlung inv. V 585
Which types of Roman relief lamps with erotic scenes are there?
| Lamp type |
Date |
Nozzle form and dimensions |
Spread of erotic discus motifs |
| Volute lamp (Loeschcke I, IV; Deneauve IV A) |
Augustan to early Flavian (late 1st c. BC to approx. AD 80) |
triangular nozzle with lateral volutes, length 9 to 11 cm |
common, with a qualitative focus on Italic production (Pompeii, Herculaneum, Lyon) |
| Relief lamp (Loeschcke VIII; Bailey groups O to R) |
Claudian to 3rd c. AD, main phase late 1st and 2nd c. |
rounded, short nozzle without volutes, length 9 to 12 cm |
common, dominated by Gallic-Rhenish and North African workshops |
| Firmalampe (Loeschcke IX, X) |
Flavian to 3rd c. AD |
angular shoulder, base stamp with workshop names (FORTIS, STROBILI, COMVNIS), length 8 to 13 cm |
rare, discus usually undecorated or with standardised mythological motifs |
| British Museum Q 828 (core model) |
approx. AD 10 to 30 |
volute lamp of Italic production, provenance near Naples |
lovers on the bed, classic discus composition of the early Imperial period |
| Present replica |
according to workshop information, 1st to 2nd c. AD |
11.2 × 7.9 × 2.9 cm, terracotta cast |
discus with erotic couple scene, typologically close to Loeschcke IV to early VIII |
Roman erotic oil lamp in practical display
In a camp impression, the lamp looks like an ordinary lighting piece from a distance of 3 to 5 m; the erotic discus only becomes clear at around 0.5 m. That makes the piece suitable for a civilian Domus setting without seeming offensive in passing, while creating an immediate opening, in conversation with an interested specialist audience, to discuss the omnipresence of erotic imagery in the Roman household. Its link to a specific original find from the Naples area (British Museum Q 828) lifts the piece beyond mere stylistic reproduction.
Suitable impression type: Domus, Taberna or Caupona display of the early to middle Imperial period (Italic peninsula and western provinces) | Use: static placement in household displays, table scenes, symposium or lupanar reconstructions; not for active burning or unprotected marching transport | Burning time: not applicable, this piece is designed as a display lamp; the shop’s safety notes state this explicitly
- Placed in a Domus scene on a mensa or cathedra console, the lamp acts as a conversation starter for questions about sexuality, gift culture and sympotic life in the household of the early Imperial period
- In a lupanar or taberna build, it complements a broader lighting display with three to five further lamps of different types and anchors the scene iconographically
- In a lucernarius workshop setting, the lamp can be shown as an example of discus reliefs formed in two-part plaster moulds, together with unpainted raw half-shells and mould fragments
-
Known weaknesses of the reconstruction: The workshop-named model in the Musée départemental Arles antique cannot be retrieved online at object level (the MDAA has no public inventory database); the support provided by the published British Museum piece Q 828 closes this gap typologically, but does not replace inventory-level confirmation of the specific Arles model. In addition, the replica lacks the dense slipped surface typical of Italic originals, and the discus composition appears slightly softer in modelling when compared directly with published pieces
What applications is this lamp suitable for?
- A Domus display focused on the early Imperial period uses the piece as table lighting in the cubiculum or triclinium, combined with a plain lamp stand (lychnouchos) and a carafe; for a military display strictly focused on the Vespasianic period, by contrast, the lamp would be a household prop belonging to a camp woman or contubernium staff, not soldiers’ equipment
- Anyone dating their impression tightly to the Tiberian-Claudian period has the cleanest find-based anchor in Q 828 as a model; in a broader 1st to 2nd c. display, the piece remains typologically polyvalent and covers both the late volute lamp (Loeschcke IV) and the early relief lamp (Loeschcke VIII)
- A club standard based strictly on individual finds will raise the missing inventory-number verification of the Arles model as an issue, but can rely on the published Bailey Q 828 parallel; for interpretation-led use before a specialist audience, the broader typological link is sufficient in any case
Collectors with a display-case focus can integrate the lamp as a well-datable representative of the Italic relief-lamp class of the early Imperial period; as a pure display lamp, that is where it sits most convincingly.
Frequently asked questions about the Roman erotic oil lamp 1
How do volute lamps and relief lamps differ?
The volute lamp (Loeschcke I to IV) has a triangular nozzle with lateral spiral volutes and belongs to the Augustan to early Flavian phase. The relief lamp (Loeschcke VIII) has a short, rounded nozzle without volutes and dominates from the Claudian period into the 3rd century. Anyone representing a close Pompeii horizon (AD 79) would choose the volute form; anyone representing a Flavian-Trajanic or later setting would choose the relief lamp.
How should I store a terracotta lamp between seasons?
Dry, frost-free and lying flat in a wooden box padded with fleece; do not stack it, because the narrow shoulders and nozzle tips are pressure-sensitive. For longer periods on display, a light wax patina is recommended (microcrystalline conservation wax, rubbed on thinly), which stabilises the slip surface and reduces dust adhesion.
Which civilian role would this piece belong to?
In a reenactment-style Domus display, the piece would be household inventory belonging to a matrona, a pater familias or a caupo (innkeeper) in an Italic or western provincial setting, 1st to 2nd century AD; in a lupanar reconstruction, it complements a deliberately chosen image programme. For a military display strictly focused on the Vespasianic period, it remains a familia prop, not soldiers' equipment.
How close is the replica to the specific original find?
The workshop places the model in the Musée départemental Arles antique, but a publicly verifiable inventory number for this specific piece cannot be retrieved online. Typologically, the replica belongs to an Italic relief lamp of the early Imperial period; the almost identical British Museum piece Q 828 (inv. 1971,0426.3), made in Italy around AD 10 to 30 and with the provenance from near Naples, provides the cleanest published find-based evidence.
Which relief lamps can be combined convincingly with the erotic lamp?
Two to four further lamps of similar date and material quality work well, ideally with different discus motifs (theatre mask, animal, mythological scene, firmalampe with workshop stamp). A mix with significantly later firmalampen (Loeschcke X late phase) or with Imperial-period bronze lamps should be avoided, because it blurs the dating layers and requires explanation before a specialist audience.
How repairable is a terracotta lamp if it breaks in camp?
Clean breaks along the mould seam (upper to lower half) can be joined in a camp setup by a non-specialist using a reversible conservation adhesive (Paraloid B-72 in acetone, 20 percent), without loss of original material; shell-like chips on the nozzle rim cannot be restored and must be replaced. A second spare lamp makes sense for active event use over several seasons.
External sources and literature on the Roman erotic oil lamp
-
Wikipedia: Symplegma. Overview article on erotic intertwined depictions in ancient art, with emphasis on sculpture and lamp decoration.
-
British Museum, London (Department of Greece and Rome): Catalogue of the Lamps in the British Museum, collection catalogue for Bailey 1980; the comparison piece cited here bears inventory number 1971,0426.3 (Bailey no. Q 828).
-
Musée Saint-Raymond, Toulouse (POP/Joconde): Lampe à huile à décor de scène érotique, inv. 2000.10.29. Verified volute lamp, type Deneauve IV A, early 1st c. AD, found in Toulouse in 1879.
-
Kunsthistorisches Museum Vienna, Antikensammlung: Symplegma lamp, inv. V 585. Clay lamp of the early Imperial period with an erotic discus scene, dimensions almost identical to the present replica.
-
Bailey, Donald M. (1980): A Catalogue of the Lamps in the British Museum II. Roman Lamps Made in Italy. London: British Museum Press. Standard catalogue with Bailey groups O to R for Loeschcke VIII, with detailed discussion of discus iconography including erotic motifs. Full text via Internet Archive.
-
Loeschcke, Siegfried (1919): Lampen aus Vindonissa. Ein Beitrag zur Geschichte von Vindonissa und des antiken Beleuchtungswesens. Zurich: Beer. Founder of the type sequence I to X for Roman clay lamps still used today.
-
Bussière, Jean / Lindros Wohl, Birgitta (2017): Ancient Lamps in the J. Paul Getty Museum. Los Angeles: Getty Publications. Open-access catalogue with the current state of research on Loeschcke VIII and erotic discus motifs.
-
Martial: Epigrammata XIV.39 (Lucerna cubicularis). Latin original text via Perseus Digital Library, AD 84/85.
Forum Traiani ® | Der Römer Shop - Making history tangible!
Updated on: 12.05.2026
