New Lighting Exhibit Opens This Weekend At The Charleston Museum
For Immediate Release, September 2008
Humans have fought to overcome darkness for millions of years and from that need various means of creating artificial light evolved. The Charleston Museum will shed some light on the subject with a two-part exhibition called Brilliant!: Ancient to Modern Lighting. From September 20, 2008 to August 2009, Brilliant! will feature lighting devices ranging from simple rushlights and splinter holders to ornate cut-crystal gas chandeliers and Tiffany-style electric lamps, all from the Charleston Museum collection. Special purpose lamps and lighting accessories will also be included in this exhibit. For more information, please visit www.charlestonmuseum.org or call (843) 722-2996.
Brilliant!: Ancient and Primitive Lighting
September 20, 2008 - February 22, 2009
The first installment of Brilliant! will feature ancient and primitive lighting devices, many of which come from the Museum's archaeology collection. "The earliest piece is a pottery lamp from Cyprus dating to the 5th century B.C.," explains exhibit curator Neil Nohrden. "The shell-shaped lamp probably used fish oil or olive oil as fuel." Rushlights, candles and "Betty" lamps will represent the next stages in lighting development. Later devices, such as whale oil, grease and camphene lamps, used primarily in the 17th through 19th centuries, will also be displayed.
Brilliant!: Modern & Special Purpose Lighting
March 6, 2009 - August 2009
The second installment of Brilliant! will explore lighting advancements beginning in the middle of the 19th century and into the 20th century. The production of kerosene, the introduction of gas lighting, and the development of the incandescent bulb were key lighting innovations. These were so intertwined that several lamps and chandeliers in the Museum's collection were converted again and again to accommodate kerosene, then gas and, finally, electricity. Special purpose lamps took unique forms for bicycle, carriage, auto, marine, railroad, miners, police, and sewing lamps.
