Hukin & Heath silver plated oil lamp c1885, Dresser influence, pattern 5684

The gallery to fit a shade is about 6 cm wide and the width for a chimney about 4.4 cm. Condition: Good overall condition, wear to the plate on the collar and the top of the lamp fitting but not elsewhere, slight unevenness to the gallery. I have given the lamp a light polish, could benefit from a more thorough cleaning if desired. The wick is present and the lamp would work fine if a chimney is added. This oil lamp is pattern number 5684, which dates it to about 1885.

Hukin and Heath were makers of a wide variety of silver and silver plated domestic wares and are most famous for their association with the great designer Dr Christopher Dresser, who designed for them for a period of a few years in the late 1870s, and transformed their design ethic. This "bark effect" design was used on a variety of wares in the 1880s, and may have been a Dresser innovation, although there is no evidence that Dresser was involved with the firm at this date.

The burner for this lamp is made by Hinks & Son, Birmingham, and they were the pre-eminent oil lamp parts maker at the time. The Hukin & Heath stamped mark is on the base along with the pattern number. A really nice piece of Aesthetic period Victorian houseware.

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