The Cesnola Collection of Cypriot Art

This comprehensive catalogue of ancient terracotta oil lamps found in Cyprus situates the objects within larger cultural and social contexts and elucidates their varied decoration

 The fourth catalogue in a series that documents the renowned Cesnola Collection of Cypriot Art, this book focuses on the collection’s 453 terracotta oil lamps dating from the Classical, Hellenistic, Roman, and Early Byzantine periods. The rich iconography on many of these common, everyday objects offers a rare look into daily life on Cyprus in antiquity and highlights the island’s participation in Roman artistic and cultural production. Each lamp is illustrated, and the accompanying text addresses the objects’ typology, decoration, and makers’ marks while providing new insights into art, craft, and trade in the ancient Mediterranean.

Published by The Metropolitan Museum of Art/Distributed by Yale University Press