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Lamp with Rooster, Symbol of St. Peter
Circa 4th-5th Century AD
Description: Roman red slipware lamp from North Africa with a rooster in raised relief on sunken medallion. The bird stands in profile looking left. Details are nicely articulated including a round eye with dotted center, pointed beak and striated comb atop its head. Two different types of feathers are indicated on the bird’s body. The legs and toes are well defined with one foot in front of the other. There is a filling hole on each side of the bird. The shoulder of the lamp is enhanced with an alternating pattern of v’s and arches, one heart on each side near the nozzle. Base ring with two impressed circles. Important New Testament theme.
Length: 5.5 in. (14 cm)
Condition: Intact except the thumb spur has a small area of restoration, stable age fissure at top of rooster's head, minor roughness to mouth of nozzle, some encrustation.
Provenance: Formerly in an East Coast private collection.
Background: In Light from the Age of Augustine, Drs. van den Hoek and Herrmann write “the rooster is thought to allude to Saint Peter’s denial of Christ before the cockcrow, the resurrection and the arrival of light and hope in the world. (Saint) Ambrose’s famous Cockcrow Hymn, Aeterne Rerum Conditor, touches on a multitude of such themes.”
Price: SOLD
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