273
274
Lamps of this type are characterized by an oval shape. The few examples recorded all have a ring handle and a shoulder Loeschcke form IV a. The nozzle is reduced to a wick-hole placed at the lower extremity of the oval body. The common discus decor is a scallop shell, as on cat. 274; however, a few are related to mythology: Victory (Bémont and Chew 2007, p. 446, pl. 21, IT 47), Venus lying on a shell (Deneauve 1969, no. 295), or Cupid (cat. 273). The flat oval base is in some cases marked off by two grooves. The type was developed in Italy, but a local production is attested in Lugdunum (Lyon), where four identical examples were produced by the La Butte workshop (Elaigne 1993, p. 243; Hanotte 2005, p. 153); a fifth example, likewise found in Lyon, may come from the same workshop (Bémont and Chew 2007, p. 271, no. GA 178, pl. 51). The known examples of the type belong to two groups according to size: a bigger one with an average length of 12–13 cm and a smaller one, 6–8 cm. The Lyon local production (La Butte) belongs to the second group. The type is dated to the second half of first century A.D.