Pristine Purple ANTIQUE Victorian OIL LAMP hand blown exquisite design- ORIGINAL

A completely beautiful beautiful DEEP PURPLE AMETHYST color original antique glass oil lamp. To top of collar, w/out chimney, and roughly about. With chimney, to the top of the glass chimney. This is an ORIGINAL (over One Century Old) ANTIQUE Oil Lamp, a hand B lown I nto M old lamp (BIM), dating well over 100 years old. Condition : Lamp in in excellent clean condition.

About the only thing we can find wrong with this lamp is the wear on the very base of it, from where it slid across tables, counters, night stands, all from back when it was in use. It has one tiny flake missing in this area, and actually, for a used appliance that was solely used to provide light, over a CENTURY ago, it is in amazing condition. The glass chimney is also in nice clean condition. The burner has been replaced , it is a brand new burner that has been'antiquied' to give it a century old look and it matches the collar. The wick is in place and works fine. Please see pictures for idea of overall appearance. Age : An early hand-blown lamp (Blown-In-Mold = BIM), ca. An outstanding looking antique oil lamp in a not too commonly seen pattern. Back then they really made things to stand up to all of the stresses and wear that they would be subject to, and this pride of craftsmanship really comes through in this lamp.

Though it is very durable and made for use, it also has an exquisitely ornate touch to it, which gives it a nice decorative look. A completely beautiful Victorian antique. Many of these old lamps are NOT safe to use, and even though this one has a new burner it should be used with caution. But most of these ORIGINAL OLD antique lamps are just used today as decoration pieces so this often isn't even an issue. This one is no exception, a beautiful antique lamp.

The bulbous base is totally embossed with an inside hive-like design (see picture # 4) very unique. This and the oil bowl look like jewels with the afternoon sun shining on them, it just illuminates the purple color, the beautiful deep purple amethyst color. You hear about old glass turning purple...

This purple color is the result of having manganese in the glass. Manganese is a mineral, a rock, that was mined, crushed, and pulverized into a powder, then added to vats of molten liquid glass, and acted as a decolorizing agent to turn the natural aqua-tinted glass into a pure crystal clear colorless glass. Then it was blown into a mold to create a vessel or object. But when exposed to the ultraviolet rays of the sun or other sources of UV rays, it triggers a chemical reaction and the manganese starts to oxidize and slowly turns a lavender or amethyst color. The end result is what collectors refer to as SCA (Sun Colored Amethyst) glass.

The longer it is in the sun the purpler it becomes. This lamp was exposed to some concentrated UV rays which had the same affect as the sun, but a lot faster. It has not been colored, stained, or altered. No matter how a glass antique item has turned purple (direct sunlight or UV rays in controlled environment) they all turn the same purple color as it is the same chemical reaction taking place.

The only difference is the time it took to turn purple. What is important is that an item is old enough to turn purple as with few exceptions, only clear glass from before 1915 have manganese in them and will turn SCA. After this, with the start of WWI, manganese was no longer available as foreign imports decreased and domestic resources turned towards the war effort. Selenium sulphate then replaced manganese as a glass de-colorizer and when exposed to UV rays, it turns a yellow / straw color, and a dark burnt amber color.

Generally speaking NO MORE purple glass after 1915! Not only does this deep purple/amethyst color make this a great looking antique OIL LAMP, but it also authenticates it as being truly antique. And again, repetition for emphasis, even though this lamp appears to be totally functional it would be best to use caution if it is to be fired. But when it is; at times of power outages, a soft nightlight, or even romantic evenings with a glass of wine, it can be used to give out that wonderful soft'antiquee' looking glow, check it out! The item "Pristine Purple ANTIQUE Victorian OIL LAMP hand blown exquisite design- ORIGINAL" is in sale since Friday, September 7, 2018.

This item is in the category "Antiques\Decorative Arts\Lamps". The seller is "clancy_kid" and is located in Clancy, Montana. This item can be shipped worldwide.

Country//Region of Origin: PURPLE amethyst AMETHYSTINE lavender MAGENTA plum
Item Description: Antique OIL LAMP functional
Era: Antique (Late 1800's)
Desirable Features: PURPLE antique OIL LAMP fancy fluted BIM
More color:: GRAPE Violet LILAC wine JAM orchid BOYSENBERRY
Style: Americana
Age: 1850-1899
Primary Material: Brass
Original/Reproduction: Original
Color: Purple