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Friday, June 6, 2014

Around [Part of] the World in 10 Lamps


The group of lamps that I have been working with belongs to the Pralle collection (named after the donor, Kurt Pralle) at the NMHFM; they've been appraised by David Bunk. See the details in the picture below (this post gets pretty exciting, so keep going):

I have been cataloging the lamps in this collection that are currently housed in temporary storage. Here, there are fifty-five lamps and two miner’s parade picks (there are more objects from this collection that are presently on display in the museum). Open tray lamps, closed tray lamps, double container lamps, closed oil lamps, safety lamps, the list goes on. Also, it should be noted that there are a couple of non-miner’s lamps in this collection, as well as a few candle-holders; the more I looked into some of these lamps, the more I think that a decent amount of them probably weren't used in mines (click here to see typical miner's lamps). This portion of the Pralle collection that is in this storage area is likely to never be put on exhibition. This post was originally going to be an object spotlight on a single lamp in particular that sparked my interest a couple of days ago. However, the more lamps I cataloged, the more amazingly awesome lamps I found! And the more amazingly awesome lamps I found, the more it pained me to think that hardly anyone would ever see these historical objects that can speak to us. So, this post is now a mini online exhibition on ten of the coolest lamps out of the fifty-five (and bear with me . . . it was hard to even narrow it down to ten).

So, step into my office:
 
Looking at this picture, you might be thinking, “Yeah, alright, maybe there’s a couple interesting lamps in here, but I mean, they’re lamps and a lot of these look the same, they can’t be that cool,” right? WRONG.

Got your imaginary (or maybe not-so-imaginary) backpack of curiosity and exploration on!? Good. Let’s get started. I did say it was around PART of the world; on our adventure today, we will be traveling from the Middle East, to Europe, and even to Northern Africa! Some of the lamps I'm going to show you will come with little blurbs or musings. Others won't. I think you should have your own ideas about them! Some have a known origin, some don't. Provenance (place of origin, earliest known history, record of ownership) can be tricky. So, let's press on, shall we?






 Look, I even made you a map!



Let's make our first stop in the Middle East; this particular lamp, after all, was the one that caught my eye in the first place and it's still one of my personal favorites.


If you think this lamp is lame, we probably shouldn't be friends anymore. Maybe that's a little harsh . . . But seriously, check this thing out! First of all, it's beautifully ornate, which makes me a little skeptical as to whether it was really used in a mine. Mining is a rough-n-tough job; why would you want to bring this kind of craftsmanship down into the depths of the earth to be banged around, scratched, dropped, etc? I sure wouldn't! And I'm going to infer that it probably wasn't. Here's the basics: Small, brass oil lamp with lid (still opens), heavily decorated and ornate; serpentine/reptilian handle, lid with two-headed bird, feather or leaf-shaped design around base. In good condition.

Let's talk iconography. The serpentine handle is really cool. It sort of looks like Randall from Monsters, Inc.


Right?? No? Okay maybe only a little bit. The snake is a symbol that's found in cultures all over the place, with various meanings (both good and bad) within different belief systems. I can't go into all that now--comparative mythology, diverse global cultural and belief systems . . . it would fill many books; in fact, it does fill many books. Here's my very brief take on it: this serpentine creature is probably good. It's associate with the lamp, and therefore light, which is good (as opposed to being lost and scared in the dark). Plus, Middle Eastern cultures typically view lizards in a positive light.

I could talk about this all day and research it for the rest of my life, so let's move on and talk about what we see on the lid of this lamp (scroll back up to see it again to refresh your memory). Is it two birds? Or just a two-headed bird? The image of the double-headed eagle is old, and it has since spread to many cultures. However, a commonality in its symbolism is power. If you want, you can read more here. One final word on what the lamp is worth. It's appraised at $50. Surprised? Me too. I would pay WAY more money for it!

We gotta move on to the next lamp or I'll never shut up about this one.

Stop two on our tour of lamp world: Turkey

Or, at least, Kurt Pralle thinks it's from Turkey; we aren't entirely positive. A Google Images search of Turkish oil lamps yields mostly Aladdin's-Genie-in-a-Bottle-esque items . . . This lamp, as you can see, is most certainly not that. It's a man! Or maybe, this man is a genie. The world may never know. Here's the basics: small ceramic, closed oil lamp; appraised at $200.

Let's hop on over to Greece, shall we? 

This lamp is also guilty for tugging at my heartstrings. A lot. Here's the info the museum/I had on it prior to a little investigation: "Small ceramic closed oil lamp with Greek letters. Date and origin unknown," in good condition with some slight wear; appraised at $200. And here's where my nerdy brain comes in.
You can see the human figure with a spear, helmet, and shield, holding out their (her) hand to a snake. I had a feeling--a hunch, if you will. That person looks like a woman. The snake just so happens to be associated with a certain Greek goddess. The goddess of wisdom, courage, inspiration, civilization, law and justice, just warfare, mathematics, strength, strategy, the arts, crafts, and skill. And here's why (seriously, click that link). "Αθηνά - AΘΗΝΑ". Guess what those Greek letters spell? ATHENA! Okay if this doesn't excite you, I don't know what else to say.

Now we have to take a little detour. Don't worry, we'll be back in Europe shortly. But first: Tunisia


Isn't this lamp sweet? It's another small ceramic oil lamp, appraised at $100, reportedly from Tunisia. Hmm. Who are these people depicted here? At first I thought, husband and wife, perhaps. A wedding gift? But then I used the power of Google. And looky what I found:

Hello, similarity! This is a Roman oil lamp depicting the busts of the Egyptian goddess Isis (left) and god Serapis (right; Greek for Osiris). But the lamp at the museum is from Tunisia? And this Roman lamp has images of Egyptian deities? Easily explained: the Roman Empire. Widespread cultural influences, conquest, trade, etc. Mystery solved.

On that note, back to Europe we go!! Our fifth stop: Spain
Do you like lions? Most people think lions are pretty cool, majestic, and beautiful. If you are one of those people, you should probably like this lamp. And if you're NOT one of those people, well, again, we probably shouldn't be friends.


All of these lamps thus far can serve as a testament as to how much cultures influence each other, especially when connected through trade and conquest. I'd love to get some date estimates on these! If you know anyone who specializes in this kind of stuff/any related field, hook us up. This marks the halfway point of our Lamp World adventure! It's been a thrilling ride so far, and I'm sure some of you are getting a bit fatigued and homesick. Why don't we all have a little siesta here in majestic Spain? Go ahead and rest, see the sights, have a drink or two, watch the sunset; I'll come back for you in the morning!

(The exhibition will be continued tomorrow, so check back here to finish our adventure! Five more stops in Lamp World!)

5 comments:

  1. Absolutely delightful..you are so suited for pursuing this kind of work...and your bonus asset is how interesting you make it for those of us whose last art history class was 40 years ago! thanks for sharing.

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  2. Wow, it must be so cool to handle such ancient and beautiful objects. So interesting by itself, but when paired with your lively commentary, I couldn't stop reading! - Dad

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  3. I just can't get over that particular collection being in the Mining Museum! Who'd've thought you'd get your hands (literally, your excited, once-grubby little hands) on such wonderful objects??? I really enjoyed this post and found the map with the individual lamps superimposed on the country of origin particularly helpful (you know how lame my brain is for geography, so thanks). Maybe you can look into having them displayed somewhere??? Fascinating. Look forward to Part 2. Mimi

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  4. If you have questions for Kurt Pralle, let me know…. He is my dad.
    Martin Pralle

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    1. Hello, Martin! I am so excited that you happened upon my blog. Would you mind sending me a quick email? My email address is: alaria.grace@gmail.com
      Thanks! I am really looking forward to hearing from you.

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