Sale: CNG 81, Lot: 1456. Estimate $750.  Closing Date: Wednesday, 20 May 2009.  Sold For $1100. This amount does not include the buyer’s fee.

Terracotta lamp with gladiatorial scene. Roman, circa 2nd century AD. Mold-formed with appliquéd decoration on discus and shoulder. Concave central disc depicting a gladiatorial scene: a secutor battling a retiarius. Shoulder decorated with a series of arches and two bands each with a pellet within circle. Spur handle with three bands, two holes for venting and filling. Base of lamp stamped with zig-zag line. Length: 10.4 cm. Excellent condition, orange surfaces under a thick layer of earthen deposits.

This lamp illustrates a popular gladiatorial match-up. The heavily armed secutor, outfitted with a gladius (sword) and scutum (semi-cylindrical, rectangular shield) was frequently matched against a lightly armed, but consequently quicker and more agile, retiarius, whose main weapons were the fuscina (trident) and rete (net). The net and long trident allowed the retiarius to fight from a distance, whereas the secutor had the advantage in close combat. In this scene the retiarius holds a sword equal in size to the secutor’s, although in instances of close combat they normally resorted to a dagger.