The material of the lamps was clay or bronze. The bronze lamps were more costly and ordinarily more freely ornamented. Those of clay were left unglazed, or covered with a red glazing like that of the Arretian ware; lamps with a greenish glaze are occasionally found.
Fig. 194.—Lamps with more than two nozzles.
The light furnished by the wicks was dim and smoky. A more brilliant light was obtained by increasing the number of nozzles. Lamps with two nozzles are often found. These were sometimes placed at one end, the handle being at the other; sometimes in the case of hanging lamps, at opposite ends, as in the example shown in [Fig. 193].
Lamps with several nozzles are not infrequently met with. The shape is often circular, as in two of the examples presented in [Fig. 194], one of which had six wicks, the other twelve. Sometimes a more ornamental form was adopted. Lamps having the shape of a boat are not uncommon; the one represented in [Fig. 194] was provided with nozzles for fourteen wicks.
Fig. 195.—Bronze lamps with ornamental covers attached to a chain.
The hanging lamps were sometimes made with a single nozzle, as the curious one having the shape of a mask shown in [Fig. 197], at the left; sometimes with two nozzles ([Fig. 193]). Bronze hanging lamps with three arms, each of which contained a place for a wick, are occasionally found; an example is given in [Fig. 197], at the right. Still more elaborate are those with a large number of nozzles, as the one represented in the same illustration, which had nine wicks.