donderdag 21 maart 2013

Thursday Show and Tell; Oil lamp

Today I show you pictures of an old oil lamp, made by my great-uncle, one of my grandmothers brothers, at my fathers side. (Well, actually she was my fathers stephmother, his own mother died in 1937 when he was 4 years old.) My great-uncle was a coppersmith in his free time...


I have polished it before taking pictures. You can see it's a little bit damaged, there  used to be an extra layer beyond the spout of the lamb, I suppose to catch oildrops or so.


If you look very well at the photo above you can see that the copper has been forced by beating it, all tiny dents. (in Nederland is de term dan ook koperslager, toepasselijker dan het engelse coppersmith) So it was a very time consuming job, and it had to be done very accurate. Copper is a rather soft material, so it can be bowed.






When I look at it I still remember it hanging above a chest of drawers in my grandmothers appartment, and before that in the beautiful house were she lived with her family, where my father lived since the family returned from Indonesie. My grandmother was a very talented and strong woman, a teacher. Those memories are dear to me. So when my grandmother died, this year 20 years ago, I inherited this oil lamp.

10 opmerkingen:

  1. Bijzondere lamp Gerda! Heeft hij die lamp helemaal zelf gemaakt? Hartstikke knap...

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    1. Ja, helemaal zelf, dat moet een enorm precisiewerk zijn geweest. Het is zo mooi gemaakt, nu wel wat beschadigd, maar dat maakt het er voor mij niet minder mooi om. Groetjes, Gerda

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  2. What a wonderful keepsake from your family. I can see the tiny dents you are talking about. I can't imagine how long it must have taken to complete it. Thanks for sharing with a "Thursday Show and Tell".

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    1. Thank you, it must have cost him a lot of time. It has never been burnt, but it can be used. Groetjes, Gerda

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  3. I've never seen sure a pretty one before! :) x

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  4. Heel bijzonder, en zo waardevol dat hij bij jullie gekoesterd wordt!!

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  5. Wat knap als je dit zelf kunt maken. Het was dus een hobby en niet zijn werk. Fijn dat dit olielampje een mooie plek bij jullie heeft gekregen. Groetjes,

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  6. Dag Gerda, Ik vond je blog...Leuk, ik kom vaker 'kijken'!Groet Hannah

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  7. Gerda, what an amazing treasure, It is so beautiful and I am so glad you take such beautiful care of it.
    Hugs,
    Meredith

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  8. What a beautiful oil lamp, such a treasure to have and to recall memories of your wonderful grandmother too.
    Wishing you a happy week!
    Helen x

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