Fig. 114.—Archaic Lampstand and Lamp in Terracotta (No. 305). Ca. 1:7.
Fig. 115.—Roman Bronze Lampstand. (No. 306*). 1:4.
Fig. 116.—Bronze Lamp from Enkomi (No. 308).
The lamps themselves (in Cases 31 and 32) are of terracotta, bronze and marble. The greater number are of the Roman period. One of the earliest is a primitive lamp (No. 308; fig. 116) of the prehistoric period known as Mycenaean, and was found in the course of the Museum excavations at Enkomi in Cyprus. It was thrust, by its spike, into the masonry joints of a built tomb, and must have had a wick floating in the oil, or supported at the spout. The essential parts of a lamp in the developed form are (1) the well for the oil, formed by the body of the lamp and fed from an opening above; in the bronze lamps this opening is covered by means of a lid, sometimes hinged, sometimes secured by a chain, as in No. 309, fig. 117; (2) the nozzle for the insertion of the wick. The nozzle generally takes the form of a projecting spout, but the arrangement varies very considerably in different lamps, and a single lamp is often furnished with several nozzles. The lamps might either be simply placed on a candelabrum or else suspended from it. Several of the bronze lamps have chains for the latter purpose (No. 309; fig. 117). A peculiar bronze hook, of which there are several examples in these cases, was sometimes used in the Roman period for hanging up the lamps; in the example illustrated (No. 310; fig. 118) it is seen hinged to the lamp in such a way that the lamp could be suspended, supported from the ground, or carried in any way desired.
Fig. 117—Roman Bronze Hanging-Lamp (No. 309). Ca. 1:4.