Roman very rare oil lamp fragment depicting Romulus and Remus

R155

£400.00

Available

The body of a moulded pottery oil lamp decorated with a depiction of the she-wolf suckling Romulus and Remus, the mythical twin founders of Rome. The twins are shown as two seated babies reaching up and suckling from the wolf who stands with her head turned back to look at her adopted “cubs”.

Although coins depicting Romulus and Remus were produced in some numbers, depictions of the twins on other objects or sculpture are very rare.

Culture
Roman, early 2nd Century AD

Size
8.2 x 7.6 cms

Condition
Fragment as shown

Provenance
Ex. collection: Victor Emile Gabriel Chevallier (Paris, France 1889-1969) and Marguerite Jeanne VEREL (Paris, France 1887-1962). Thence from 1969 passed through three generations of the same Parisian family by inheritance.

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