Oil lamps are one of, I think, the greatest inventions ever. Sure it seems like a simple and primitive device, but it also was the main provider of something we all have to have so we don’t run into walls or trip and break things we all need, LIGHT.

Antique Oil lamps predate prehistory and have always been used as a source of light. Oil lamps today are primarily used for alternative emergency lighting and mood setters. Other people collect antique oil lamps.

There are several types of fuel that are used with oil lamps. You’ve got olive oil that was the main fuel in the Western nations; people also used extracts like fish oil, nuts, plants, and petroleum. Egyptians were known to use castor oil and India was known to use sesame oil, peanut, or mustard.

Up until around the 3rd c. BC, oil lamps were made using the crude potter’s wheel. After that Greece and Egypt introduced to the world the use of molds to create their oil lamps. That was the primary way to create oil lamps up until the 8th century AD.

Although oil lamps were primarily used for light, they also served for funerary and votive purposes. Old oil lamps also played important roles in religion. Oil lamps bared a significant role in Christianity as lighting the way for the righteous and often buried with dead to light the way for the soul to the hereafter. In India, oil lamps were often kept lit during marriages to keep the evil away.

This being said, if you are able to obtain an antique oil lamp you are most likely also inheriting a rich history of culture from where it derived. It can give insight into the culture and social status of the previous owner or owners. Its nice having things of the old to reflect on and learn from.

Author: Brandon Lyles

For more general information or looking to own your own antique oil lamps and other types of oil lamps including; hanging oil lamps, oil lamp shades, Aladdin oil lamps give us a visit.

http://www.antique-oil-lamps.net/

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Brandon_Lyles

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