Roman Terracotta Lamps: The Organization of an Industry

Abstract

This chapter analyses the structure the terracotta lamp industry in Rome. It asks: Where did production take place in relation to where lamps were sold, and how were the units of production related to one another? Were there in fact large enterprises at work in the lamp industry, and if so, how did they function? It is shown that, although most of the lamps with widely diffused, makers' names were made in scattered locations and quite near the places where they were sold, there probably was a real connection between many if not all of the workshops that used particular names. While some unauthorized use of names must have occurred, a major part of the system consisted of branch workshops. This becomes more credible, and can be better understood if due attention is given to what is known about institores, the managers of such subsidiary enterprises and an important element in the Roman economic system.

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