Getty Museum

Lamp

Date

150–50 B.C.

Medium

Terracotta

Culture

Roman

Department

Implements

Institution

Getty Museum

This mold-made lamp takes the form of a Black African male’s head with corkscrew curls. He has a slim face, with large flat nostrils and full lips. A long, flat-topped nozzle with a round tip protrudes from the man’s mouth, so that when lit, the flame would appear to leap from his tongue. A thick ridge with radial fluting surrounds the central filling-hole on top of the head. The lamp rests on an oval, flat base, and a leaf-shaped handle ornament rises up from the back, concealing a holding ring beneath. Lamps made possible a range of activities after dark, including reading, working, and socializing, and also played a key part in religious practices and burial rites. They were produced in large quantities through the use of molds, and the flat upper surface provided a convenient field for decoration. Common subjects include geometric patterns, animals, divinities, and scenes from daily life. The depiction of a Black African’s face finds a number of parallels (see [83.AQ.377.488](https://www.getty.edu/art/collection/objects/17170/unknown-maker-lamp-roman-1st-century-bc-4th-century-ad/); [83.AQ.377.492](https://www.getty.edu/art/collection/objects/17174/unknown-maker-lamp-roman-1st-century-bc-4th-century-ad/); [83.AQ.438.342](https://www.getty.edu/art/collection/objects/26293/unknown-maker-lamp-greek-nd/); [83.AQ.377.340](https://www.getty.edu/art/collection/objects/16988/unknown-maker-lamp-greek-2nd-1st-century-bc/)), and typifies the commodification of their bodies in Roman visual media. In this context, there may also be a play of word and image. Black Africans were known to the ancient Greeks and Romans as Aethiopians, from the Greek for “burnt-faced.” Depicted upon the surface of a lamp, this Aethiopian’s face would – literally - be darkened by fire.

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