The Archaeological Museum of Alicante is showing until next September the exhibition 'Light of Rome', an exhibition that brings together 43 pieces from various collections and consisting of Roman oil lamps. The aim of this new cultural proposal, which is promoted by the provincial government of AlicanteThe aim of this project is to show the usefulness, shape and decoration of these small objects, which changed over the centuries of Roman rule.
The Member of Parliament for Culture and Education, César Augusto Asenciopresented in the MARQ Library, the space where the collection is exhibited, this initiative, which is reinforced with different explanatory panels which cover topics related to the production and trade of lucernas, as well as two audiovisuals which provide complementary information. Asencio was accompanied by the director of the Alicante museum, Manuel Olcinathe curator of the exhibition, Anna Garciaand the regional director for Alicante of the Banco Sabadell Foundation, Juan MerinoThe proposal's sponsor.
Asencio pointed out that "the word "lucerne" is a term with a long tradition"and further indicated that "these objects may seem small or insignificant in the context of a life or a culture, but often history is reflected through these details and this exhibition allows us to see their historical evolution.".
The objects that make up this compilation come from both the Archaeological Museum of Alicante, and from the Monographic Museum of La Alcudia of Elche and of the Municipal Archaeological Museum of Elda. Of these, one bronze example stands out, a glazed skylight decorated with two horse heads and a circular lamp with numerous light holes.
The tour of this exhibition, which will subsequently travel to several municipalities, is being held from chronologicallystarting in the Iberian period. However, the main part of the exhibition focuses on the pieces from the Roman period, distributed in its different stages: Republican, High-Imperial, Low-Imperial and Late Roman.
In addition, two other sections are presented, one of them dedicated to the decorative repertoire from the Roman periodThe aim is to show the public the variety of themes represented, and another one which includes various parts bearing the manufacturer's mark.
Finally, the curator of the exhibition indicated that ".The lanterns are objects made of durable materials such as ceramics and metal and have been essential since ancient times, since, with slight transformations, they have survived until almost 50 years ago, when the metal lanterns were still in use.l".
