Besides lamps and candles, lanterns were also largely in use, especially for outdoor purposes. Such a portable Roman lantern (in Case 32) is here illustrated (No. 318; fig. 122). It is cylindrical in shape and has a hemispherical cover, which could be raised from the body of the lantern. The latter was enclosed with plates of some transparent material such as horn, bladder, or linen. That talc was also used is shown by the fact that several of the lanterns in the Museum at Naples have their walls made of this material. Just below the lantern is a small bronze statuette, which has formed the body of a knife (No. 319). A grotesque figure is walking with a lantern in his right hand, and a basket slung over his shoulders. It was found at Behnesa, in Egypt, and probably represents a bird-catcher returning in the evening with his spoils. The lantern carried by him very closely resembles the one described above.
Cheaper forms of perforated clay lanterns are also exhibited (No. 320; fig. 123).
Fig. 122.—Bronze Lantern (No. 318). 1:4.
Fig. 123.—Earthenware Lantern (No. 320).
The Kitchen.—Cases 33-36 contain cooking implements and remains of ancient fruit and grain. The vessels give a good idea of the furniture of a Pompeian kitchen, although there is no example of the more elaborate contrivances for preparing hot drinks and keeping food warm, such as have been found at Pompeii, and may be seen in the Museum at Naples.
The kitchen implements arranged in these cases do not differ materially from those in modern use, except that they are made of bronze, and frequently have some graceful and appropriate ornamentation. One or two of the objects call for special remark. On the second shelf from the bottom of Case 34 is an implement with a long handle and a rectangular pan furnished with six circular depressions (No. 321). A circular pan with twenty-eight such depressions was found at Pompeii, and is now at Naples. These pans were probably used either for baking cakes or frying eggs.
In Case 36, on the same shelf as the pan for baking cakes, is a bronze frying-pan (No. 322), with a spout at one corner. Instead of butter, fat, or dripping, the Romans, like the inhabitants of southern countries at the present day, were accustomed to use oil in frying. The shelf above the pans is occupied with ladles, dippers, and other implements. The handles of the ladles usually terminate in a beautifully modelled head of an animal, such as that of a duck, swan, or dog. One wine dipper (No. 323) is hinged so as to fold for the pocket. On the next shelf above are two painted plates of about the beginning of the third century B.C. They belong to a well marked class (cf. Fourth Vase Room, Cases 26-7) of plates of Campanian fabric, distinguished by the fish and other marine creatures painted upon them. It is probable that they were intended for the serving of fish. Of the two examples shown in this case one (No. 324) is decorated with a sea-perch, a sargus (a fish peculiar to the Mediterranean), and a torpedo, the other (No. 325; fig. 124) with a red mullet, a bass, a sargus, and a cuttlefish.
