Roman oil lamp

Oil lamps work a bit like candles, using liquid oil as fuel instead of wax. The oil is stored inside the lamp and a wick is dipped in the oil through a hole in the lamp and lit.

This Roman oil lamp is also decorated with an image of a gladiator, standing over his fallen opponent. On the underside is stamped ‘Fausti’ meaning ‘Faustus’, the name of the person who made the lamp.

The lamp belonged to Lieutenant Colonel Leopold Agar Denys Montague (1861–1940), an avid collector. On his death in 1940, Montague left his collection of about 800 pieces to RAMM. You can find more of the pieces he collected on RAMM’s collections site.

Visual description: A pale ceramic Roman oil lamp. It is circular in shape and depicts a gladiator standing over a fallen opponent in light relief. There is a hole in the centre for a wick. The nozzle shows slight damage and is not intact. The underside of the lamp is stamped with the name ‘Fausti’.