Bronze Lucerne (New Year)

A bronze lantern, for domestic illumination, in this case it is a gift object on New Year’s Day. In Rome it was a tradition to celebrate the arrival of the New Year with a feast. The house was decorated with green branches (laurel in the Mediterranean areas and pine in the northernmost ones) and the children, relatives, municipal magistrates and even the emperor received good wishes -vota- and aguinaldos -strenae-.These wishes and gifts had the magical role of ensuring the fulfillment of the hopes of the recipients in the coming year. They often took the form of ceramic pigs to hold money, bronze rings or skylights. This is the case here. A bronze lucerne, corresponding to the Dressel 10 type and dated to the second half of the 2nd century AD. The relief of the rostrum (upper part) presents a winged Victory holding a palm with the left hand and the right hand resting on a disk with an inscription ANNVM NOVVM FAVSTUM FELICEM MIHI, as an expression of the wish of happiness and prosperity for the new year by the one who gives it to the recipient. Another disk represents lanus, our January, with its two faces. Several coins, a sheaf of grain and a bunch of grapes, as a symbol of fertility and economic prosperity, and a dart point or spear as a sign of triumph in conflicts, reinforce the message of good omen.