Lamp in the Form of Head of a Man

Belonging to a category of anthropomorphic, or plastic, lamps created in the early Roman Imperial period (1st–3rd centuries CE), this lamp represents a Black African man as the body of the lamp with a spout projecting from his open mouth. These anthropomorphic lamps may have represented the figure as a fire-eater. Although it once had a hinged lid that covered the rectangular filling hole at the top of the head, only the hinges remain today. The short flaring base is typical of other bronze lamps from the period. 

Lamps were an important object for daily life in the Roman Empire. They lit homes, businesses, and temples at night but were also used in funerary contexts. Roman plastic lamps in the forms of heads typically fall into three main categories: heads of Black Africans, representations of theater masks, or heads of animals including bulls and elephants. Extant lamps are known in bronze and in terracotta, including one in the Menil Collection (Y 106), which also represents a Black African man. 

Bronze lamps regained popularity in the 18th century after finds from Pompeii and Herculaneum came to light. Examples also appear in drawings, such as two by Piranesi in the Menil Collection (P73-21.1 PC and P66-18 PC). On this lamp, the letters “LA” appear in black ink on the base, but the origin and meaning of them is unknown.