Time lamp
Category
Metalwork
Date
1600 - 1700
Materials
Glass, Pewter
Measurements
400 mm (Height)
Order this imageCollection
Arlington Court, Devon
NT 986573
Caption
This unusual piece is German in origin. It has a glass reservoir which holds the oil (almost certainly whale oil), which then drops as it is burned away. The level is then read off against the hour marker. The oil in the Time Lamp burned at a regular and predictable rate and may well have kept time more reliably than clocks of the time, which until fairly recently were very inaccurate. Despite the help of the Pewter Society, this piece can not be dated more accurately than pre-Twentieth Century.
Summary
Pewter 17th century German time lamp, glass oil reservoir screwed to turned base - marked for 12 hours.