Antiquities Exhibits

 "This globular lamp in the shape of a Black African male’s head was made with a mold. Tightly packed rows of concentric stamped dots indicate curly hair, and the figure’s eyes stare widely. He has a slight, pointed nose, and his puffed-out cheeks and open mouth - which serves as the wick-hole - give the impression that he is blowing a flame. Clear traces of use are visible from the burn residue around the mouth and on the lamp’s right side. The filling-hole is located on the forehead, surrounded by a raised circular collar that connects to a loop. This ring indicates that the lamp could be suspended, or stand flat on its raised base-ring." "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 geometri...

This unusual moldmade lamp depicts  a woman dressed in a long-sleeved garment standing next to a truncated column, playing a harp, which leans on her shoulder. Her hairdo is similar to a style worn by Empress Julia Domna, wife of Septimius Severus . The Filling-hole is on top of the instrument and the wick-hole pierces its base.  Julia Domna was born in Emesa (present-day Homs) in Roman Syria, the youngest daughter of the high priest of Baal, Julius Bassianus. The family had enormous wealth and was promoted to Roman senatorial aristocracy. Before her marriage, Domna also inherited the estate of her paternal great-uncle, Julius Agrippa, a former leading centurion.  In 187 CE, she married Severus, who at the time was governor of the Roman province of Gallia Lugdunensis. The Augustan History relates that, after losing his first wife around 186 CE, Septimius Severus heard a prophesy of a woman in Syria who would marry a king. So Severus sought out Domna from one of Syria's mo...