---
title: Bronze Oil Lamp in the Shape of an African Slave
author: Sailko
source: https://www.worldhistory.org/image/8262/bronze-oil-lamp-in-the-shape-of-an-african-slave/
format: machine-readable-alternate
license: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0)
updated: 1970-01-01
---

# Bronze Oil Lamp in the Shape of an African Slave

_Authored by Sailko_

## Image File

[![Bronze Oil Lamp in the Shape of an African Slave](https://www.worldhistory.org/uploads/images/8262.jpg)](https://www.worldhistory.org/uploads/images/8262.jpg)

## Image Caption

This [Roman](https://www.worldhistory.org/disambiguation/Roman/) oil lamp of unclear provenance was made in the 1st Century CE. It portrays an Aethiopian slave, with barbarians like Africans and [Celts](https://www.worldhistory.org/celt/) being popular motifs in [Roman art](https://www.worldhistory.org/Roman_Art/). The lamp has also been suggested to have erotic connotations, and its subject may well have been a sexual slave. This too is related to Roman artistic motifs, and both [Hellenistic](https://www.worldhistory.org/Hellenic_World/) and Roman lamps frequently portrayed both explicitly and implicitly erotic themes. (National Archaeological Museum of [Aquileia](https://www.worldhistory.org/aquileia/), [Italy](https://www.worldhistory.org/italy/))

## Cite This Work

### APA
Sailko. (2018, March 09). Bronze Oil Lamp in the Shape of an African Slave. *World History Encyclopedia*. <https://www.worldhistory.org/image/8262/bronze-oil-lamp-in-the-shape-of-an-african-slave/>
### Chicago
Sailko. "Bronze Oil Lamp in the Shape of an African Slave." *World History Encyclopedia*, March 09, 2018. <https://www.worldhistory.org/image/8262/bronze-oil-lamp-in-the-shape-of-an-african-slave/>.
### MLA
Sailko. "Bronze Oil Lamp in the Shape of an African Slave." *World History Encyclopedia*, 09 Mar 2018, <https://www.worldhistory.org/image/8262/bronze-oil-lamp-in-the-shape-of-an-african-slave/>.

## License & Copyright

[Original image](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Lucerne_di_varia_forma_in_bronzo,_età_imperiale,_02_moro_1.jpg) by [**Sailko**](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Lucerne_di_varia_forma_in_bronzo,_età_imperiale,_02_moro_1.jpg). Submitted by [Arienne King](https://www.worldhistory.org/user/ava.spartan.117/ "User Page: Arienne King"), published on 09 March 2018. The copyright holder has published this content under the following license: [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0deed.en). This license lets others remix, tweak, and build upon a work even for commercial reasons, as long as they credit the author and license their new creations under the identical terms. When republishing on the web a hyperlink back to the original content source URL must be included. Please note that content linked from this page may have different licensing terms.