Ca. 300-400 AD. Roman. A wonderfully preserved, mould-made terracotta lamp with a round nozzle, a round discus with concentric ridges and one filling hole, and a perforated round handle. The rich, deep red colour indicates a North African provenance. The discus is adorned with a right-facing eagle and a caduceus. Excellent condition. The caduceus was the staff carried by Hermes (in Rome, Mercury), the Graeco-Roman messenger of the gods, as a symbol of peace. Among the ancient Greeks and Romans, the caduceus became the badge of heralds and ambassadors, signifying their inviolability. As regards the eagle, the traits that we commonly associate with this bird, such as strength, shrewdness, and leadership, emerged in ancient Egypt over 4000 years ago. The Romans appropriated eagle imagery when they conquered Egypt in 300 BC and incorporated this symbolic meaning into their own culture. In 107 BC, Roman general Gaius Marius designated the eagle as the emblem of the Roman army, presenting Rome as the ideal ruler in the global sphere. During the Roman Empire, a lamp like this one was originally called a 'lychnus; (from the Greek ‘λυχνος’) with the oldest Roman lamps dating back to the third century BC. It is thought that the Romans took the idea for lamps from the Greek colonies of Southern Italy. During the Roman Empire, it became commonplace to use lamps in funeral ceremonies and for public purposes. Over time, the manufacture of lamps increased, and so did the variation in decoration, which depended mainly on the shape and size of the lamp. Common decorative themes depicted on the discus were entertainment scenes (such as gladiators in combat), common myths, and animals. During the fourth and fifth century AD, North Africa started to produce oil lamps from red slip, much like this fine example, with large discus areas which allowed for numerous designs. Cf. Zhuravlev, D. (2002). Fire, light and light equipment in the Graeco-Roman world. Oxford: Archaeopress to find out more about light equipment across the Classical world. Size: L:43mm / W:93mm ; 49g. Provenance: Property of a North London gentleman C. M.; formerly in Arnos Jumperz collection, Leverkusen (Germany), acquired pre-1994.