Bronze oil lamp in the shape of a plucked chicken

Oil lamps, small lamps fuelled by oil, beeswax or – more rarely – animal fat, were a very common item of furniture in the Roman world: they were, in fact, indispensable for lighting rooms and in all those circumstances where artificial light was required (public and religious ceremonies, performances, funeral rites, etc.). As they were objects of daily use, they were mostly made of terracotta; however, there were also finer examples in metal, often shaped to depict various subjects. Among these, the case of the Concordian oil lamp shaped like a plucked chicken, rendered with meticulous detail, is particularly curious: the bird, ready for cooking, has its hind legs tied, its small folded wings visible on its flanks, and the holes left by the plucked feathers on its skin.