Getty Museum

Lamp

Date

323–31 B.C. or 20th century

Medium

Terracotta

Culture

Greek or modern

Department

Implements

Institution

Getty Museum

The top of this lamp represents a Black African with almond-shaped eyes, a broad nose, a creased brow, and long corkscrew curls that hang down to the ears on both sides of the head. From his thick upper lip protrudes a long flat-topped nozzle with a triangular tip. The lamp is mold-made, with an elongated body and sloping sides, and rests on an ovoid base-ring. A raised edge surrounds the upper surface —a typical feature of Hellenistic “Ephesus” lamps. The filling-hole is located at the upper part of the raised edge. 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.377.486](https://www.getty.edu/art/collection/objects/17168/unknown-maker-lamp-roman-1st-century-bc-4th-century-ad/); [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.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.

The authoritative record is held by Getty Museum. LinkedCulture surfaces this object and its connections; it does not alter institutional metadata.