Golden times of oil lights in the Museum of Bourgeoisie Art

The exhibition presents about 150 oil lamps from the 19th and 20th century. It is one of the largest collections of its kind in Poland.

The first kerosene lamp was created in 1853 in Lviv, invented by Ignacy Łukasiewicz in cooperation with Adam Bratkowski. On 31 July this year, it was possible to carry out a surgical operation at night in Lviv hospital in its light, as it already had a brightness comparable to more than 15 candles.

Since then, it has been modernized and improved and began to appear in increasing numbers and variety in homes throughout Europe. The most effective of the lamps, including those on display, were created from the second half of the 19th century. They present valuable monuments of European craftsmanship. Among them there are table, column, fireplace, wall and hanging lamps. They are gilded, decorated with enamel with painted, multi-coloured, artistically engraved or polished lampshades.

Among the works presented at the exhibition there are examples of well-known European producers of that time, such as Wild & Wessel from Leipzig and Berlin, Hugo Schneider from Leipzig or Rudolf Ditmar from Vienna. The collection reflects the period when oil lamps were in their prime, which was the turn of the 19th and 20th century. The exhibition presents approx. There are about 150 kerosene lamps and it is one of the largest such collection in Poland.