🔎 UNIDENTIFIED Ancient Roman oil lamps? Hoping for help with dating.

[megadele]

Hello, this is my first time posting. I rescued a few items from the Goodwill outlet store yesterday, including these two pieces of pottery. Based on google lens and some eBay searching, the more oblong of the 2 seems to be a terracotta or clay oil lamp from the Roman Empire (maybe 100-400 AD?). The other more circular lamp has me stymied. Google lens was insistent it was a Honda replacement part. 😂 Any ideas what it *actually* is? It does have some interesting (but hard to see) markings on the bottom, and also an engraved marking on the backside that looks almost like "CP" or a heart shape. Both items are approximately 2" tall and 4" wide at their broadest. I've tried to include closeups of both.

I am an online reseller and am hoping to get a better idea of what these items are before listing them. Thank you in advance for any help!

BTW, I know it seems weird that these were at Goodwill. Alongside these was also a small metal sculpture which turns out to be by a decently well known midcentury artist. (Not hugely famous, but I was pleasantly surprised when I realized it was nothing to sneeze at.) Anyways, I think these perhaps came from an estate of a collector and were just offloaded at Goodwill as they looked like "junk" to whomever was doing cleanout. Just a guess.

thanks again! Let me know if you need more info or better photos.

 

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[jgoetz4]

Look on ebay for a possible description. They have a few that are similar to yours.
Jim

 

[tamrock]

Even though they look old and aged, odds are they are modern replicas. You can buy them on various online websites. I found this rather small clay lamp at my local thrift store. I made a wick out of a cotton pad and with a little olive oil from the pantry I tried it out.

 

[CRUSADER]

Even though they look old and aged, odds are they are modern replicas. You can buy them on various online websites. I found this rather small clay lamp at my local thrift store. I made a wick out of a cotton pad and with a little olive oil from the pantry I tried it out.

Yeap.

 

[megadele]

Thank you, all. That was my biggest concern (replica), especially with the smaller lamp. I do see a lot of sand caked in the crevices, which seems to differ from some of the replicas I see online, but who knows? Maybe it's just a really good replica! I'll just list it as is / full disclosure on auction with tons of photos at a price I'd be happy with, and if it is in fact the real deal, hopefully someone with more expertise than me will see it and appreciate it for what it is!

I did a little more digging on the second piece of pottery, and I actually think it might be a piece of modern studio pottery. I found a similar signature using an online catalog of potters marks, and I'm pretty sure I've figured out the artist. He is no longer living, but I have connected with a former colleague of his who has graciously offered to look at some photos and weigh in on whether it is his work or not.

Thank you for the responses!

 

[CRUSADER]

Thank you, all. That was my biggest concern (replica), especially with the smaller lamp. I do see a lot of sand caked in the crevices, which seems to differ from some of the replicas I see online, but who knows? Maybe it's just a really good replica! I'll just list it as is / full disclosure on auction with tons of photos at a price I'd be happy with, and if it is in fact the real deal, hopefully someone with more expertise than me will see it and appreciate it for what it is!

I did a little more digging on the second piece of pottery, and I actually think it might be a piece of modern studio pottery. I found a similar signature using an online catalog of potters marks, and I'm pretty sure I've figured out the artist. He is no longer living, but I have connected with a former colleague of his who has graciously offered to look at some photos and weigh in on whether it is his work or not.

Thank you for the responses!

Attaching sand & grime into the piece is part of the 'aging' process. Its added to look like its always been there.

 

[Gare]

Hello, this is my first time posting. I rescued a few items from the Goodwill outlet store yesterday, including these two pieces of pottery. Based on google lens and some eBay searching, the more oblong of the 2 seems to be a terracotta or clay oil lamp from the Roman Empire (maybe 100-400 AD?). The other more circular lamp has me stymied. Google lens was insistent it was a Honda replacement part. 😂 Any ideas what it *actually* is? It does have some interesting (but hard to see) markings on the bottom, and also an engraved marking on the backside that looks almost like "CP" or a heart shape. Both items are approximately 2" tall and 4" wide at their broadest. I've tried to include closeups of both.

I am an online reseller and am hoping to get a better idea of what these items are before listing them. Thank you in advance for any help!

BTW, I know it seems weird that these were at Goodwill. Alongside these was also a small metal sculpture which turns out to be by a decently well known midcentury artist. (Not hugely famous, but I was pleasantly surprised when I realized it was nothing to sneeze at.) Anyways, I think these perhaps came from an estate of a collector and were just offloaded at Goodwill as they looked like "junk" to whomever was doing cleanout. Just a guess.

thanks again! Let me know if you need more info or better photos.


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Welcome to treasurenet . Nice find