Figurative Lamps Depicting Silenus Discovered in Roman Dacia

COCIȘ,SORIN; LĂZĂRESCU, VLAD-ANDREI

EPHEMERIS NAPOCENSIS 32 (XXXII/2022)

Figurative Lamps Depicting Silenus Discovered in Roman Dacia

(pages 329-344)

DOI: https://doi.org/10.33993/ephnap.2022.32.329

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Authors:
SORIN COCIȘ
Institute of Archaeology and History of Art Cluj-Napoca, Romanian Academy – Cluj Branch, M. Kogălniceanu 12–14, 400084, Cluj-Napoca, Cluj County, RO; e-mail: scocis@yahoo.com

VLAD-ANDREI LĂZĂRESCU
Institute of Archaeology and History of Art Cluj-Napoca, Romanian Academy – Cluj Branch, M. Kogălniceanu 12–14, 400084, Cluj-Napoca, Cluj County, RO; e-mail: vlad.lazarescu@academia-cj.ro; lazarescu_vlad@yahoo.com

Keywords: figurative plastic lamps, Silenus iconography, Roman Dacia, Sutor Roman civilian settlement, chronology.

Abstract
The paper discusses the few figurative plastic lamps with the representation of the god Silenus discovered in the Roman province of Dacia starting from the analysis of a recently found specimen at Optatiana / Sutor (Sălaj County, Romania). From a morphological perspective, all these artefacts consist of a central clay statuette around which a series of secondary functional elements are revolving, namely one or more clay lamps. The high quality of these plastic lamps (lychnophoroi) makes such artefacts extremely valuable, while their technical and artistic aspect indicates towards their local production. From a chronological point of view, the data related to their archaeological context of discovery (especially for the items discovered at Optatiana and Porolissum), suggests that such figurative plastic lamps are to be dated in Dacia during the 2nd century AD, representing the revival of a late Hellenistic tradition.

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Figurative Lamps Depicting Silenus Discovered in Roman Dacia