Bussière form D II 1

This is the standard form of Loeschcke type VIII: the short, rounded nozzle is separated from the discus by a straight horizontal line, flanked by two dots (Bus. 4a). All Getty lamps of Bussière form D II 1 conform to that feature, except three examples: cat. 287, on which the line is shown but the two dots are missing (Bus. 4d); and cats. 299–300, in which both line and dots are missing (Bus. 4e). All Getty lamps of Bussière form D II 1 have a pierced round handle with two grooves on the upper part. Their shoulder is either Loeschcke form VII a (20 ex.), VII b (4 ex.), or VI a (1 ex.). The discus decors vary: mythology (6 ex.): Diana, Dioscuri, Sol and Luna, Africa, Lares, and griffin; persons (8 ex.): portraits of Domitian, Hadrian, male head, bust of a young man, bust of a young woman, bust of a bearded old man, fisherman, and an aulete; animals (3 ex.): scorpion, boar, and lion with crocodile; entertainment (2 ex.): bust of a masked comic actor, and a grotesque on a boat; and varia (3 ex.): rosette, myrtle wreath, and garlanded amphora. Three lamps have a plain discus. Among the bases, only cat. 341 has a base-ring, all the others have a base marked off by one circular groove.

All but five lamps are signed. Seven signatures are from African workshops: MNOVIV, MNOVIVST, MNOVIVSTI, IVNIALEXI (2 ex.), CCORVRS, EXFNA/LVCCEIORVM; nine from Italic: CLOHEL, CLOHELI, FABRICMASC, QNVMICEL, CF.IS(?) in planta pedis, COPPIRES (2 ex.), LMVNPHILE, LMADIEC, but the four last workshops most probably had branches in Africa; one, cat. 301, which reads SLMRMEVO, is, according to Bailey, a nonsensical signature created by the modern Naples workshop specializing in reproductions or forgeries (see Bailey 1965, p. 95); finally, the signature of cat. 340 is of dubious reading: Q.M.[Q], a workshop unknown to us (the lamp was purchased in Asia Minor); the signature of cat. 288 is illegible. The periods of activity of the workshops mentioned above are, with one exception, within the time span A.D. 80–180. The floruit of the standard form Bussière D II 1 was during the Late Flavian period and the first half of the second century. The exception mentioned concerns cat. 302, signed OFFICINA LVCCEIORVM, an African workshop active A.D. 175–225. Consequently cat. 302 was produced early in the activity of this workshop.

Additional objects of this type: cats. 339–43.