I am extremely sorry that my posts have been so thin on the ground for the last fortnight. I don’t have very good excuses for last week (although maybe the brain-melting heat wave which swept through the region provides some cover), but last night there was a blackout in Brooklyn, and there was no way I could write anything in the digital realm! Being cast back in time made me reflect on the world before the internet and electricity. Specifically I became fascinated by non-electrical lamps (which you never really think about until you need them).
Although I filled up my darkened house with LED tea candles and glowsticks, other peoples have not always had recourse to such safe options–like the Romans, who were forced to rely on candles, fires, torches, and their favorite night time standby, the oil lamp. Ferrebeekeeper has touched on how the symbols and visual culture of Ancient Rome do not always make sense to us today…and indeed today’s post offers a powerful example of that. Oil lamps came in all sorts of shapes and sizes (some of them seem to have been commemorative, or tourist trap items), but one of the absolute favorite lamp shapes was a foot. These oil foot-lamps were sometimes bare and sometimes super ornate, but most often they are wearing handsome sandals.
So, why are these things shaped like feet? Trying to research this question on Google resulted in me being whisked to various strange theological explanations of the Book of Romans by Dr. Lightfoot! I was hoping that this was the foot of Mercury or something, but I never did get to the bottom of what is going on. Speaking of which, the best hint I got was that the lamps may have been placed at the bottom of a mural so that the painting glittered in the darkness…which is to say these were the original and literal footlights. This makes no sense to me, but it is sort of a modern English pun, I guess. Perhaps it was a pun or a satisfying visual cue to the Romans as well.
Roman Foot Lamp with Sphinx Handle (Excavated in Libya, manufactured ca.1st century AD) Pottery
Whatever the case is, I love the feet! These lamps are truly satisfying to look at, so maybe the Romans were on to something (they got roads and aqueducts right, after all). If anybody wants to make a new old-style lamp company I am opened to that. Also, if there are any classics majors out there who could explain this, please help us out in the comments! I am unhappy with the “footlight” explanation and I long for a real understanding of what is going on with these charming feet!
Roman Imperial Foot-Lamp (Ca. 3RD-4TH Century A.D.) bronze
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7 comments
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July 24, 2019 at 3:09 AM
Isobel Necessary
Wow, how unusual – I’d certainly not come across these before, so thanks for sharing. I quite like the footlights idea, but perhaps there’s another more convincing explanation. Hopefully another of your readers can enlighten us!
In terms of the Bible connection, Psalm 119 contains the phrase “your word is a lamp unto my feet” (NIV for you there), but given the chronology there’s unlikely to be a connection to these Roman lamps, right?
What other shapes did lamps come in – were there any others that were a bit unusual?
July 24, 2019 at 5:03 PM
Wayne
Hmmm…although a lot of the other Roman lamps I noticed were lamp-shaped or disk-shaped with figures or inscriptions stamped onto them, the other common designs seem to have been birds, fish, and, um, male reproductive organs.
January 2, 2022 at 1:06 PM
James Justiss
Oops saw your similar post after posting mine. To answer your timeline question one of the Psalms authors was King David, so it seems that these lamps could have predated the Roman Empire. Just an amateur guess as I have no formal training in this area. Cheers
July 24, 2019 at 2:35 PM
Benjamin Miller
I can’t explain the foot shape, but I can at least say that the phenomenon lived on into the modern age: https://www.rct.uk/collection/34067/inkwell
March 3, 2020 at 3:27 PM
Anonymous
The 1st & 4th are total fakes
January 2, 2022 at 12:59 PM
James Justiss
Psalms 119 verse 105 says “Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my way.” Scripture can lead us on successful pathways, but like a literal oil lamp usually only gives us a glimpse of the next step or two. I have no idea if there’s any connection, but thought maybe it’s a reference to this scripture. On the other hand maybe it was just a clever marketing idea….
July 12, 2022 at 2:51 AM
Anonymous
The answer is obvious ; darkness means you can not see around when you move (meaning walking in darkness) ; and most likely part of your body will hit an obstacle first will be your `FOOT` and most likely injured part of your foot will be the `Big toe` simply the Big Toe is at the front part of all other toes of the `forward moving foot` when walking . I bet you got scoop why on earth ancient Roman`s put the candle at the `Big toe part` . Statistics of traumatic foot injury when people walking in darkness should have been `quite clear` in Roman times .