19th Century Scottish Wrought Iron Lidded 'Cruisie' Oil Lamp

For sale is a charismatic Scottish vernacular 'Cruisie' oil lamp. The oil lamp is handmade in wrought iron. In the 18th and 19th Century in the Highlands, coasts and Islands of Scotland lighting methods and the availability of fuels such as comparatively expensive candles was limited. This meant that adaptations of rush lighting and the use of oil from fish in coastal districts was commonplace. This was alongside the basic glow from the light of fires in open hearth dwellings/croft houses. This wrought iron, blacksmith made oil lamp or betty was handmade by hammering out a plate of iron to form into a mould. This was suspended from a wall, nail or beam to provide an adaptable and movable, additional source of light. Cruisie lamps vary a great deal in design and shape, dependent on the availability of iron and the purpose for which they were used in the home or workplace. A standard approach had a double pan arrangement and this one looks to have lost its lower 'larger' pan some time ago (which allowed them to catch the oil drips and not waste anything), judging by the bracket mid-way up the stem. Cruisie lamps consist of leaf-shaped vessels in which to hold the oil, into which a floating rush or appropriate wick was placed from the neck to act as a wick soaking up the oil to burn as a bright light source. In modern times people utilise tea-lights or olive oil into these cruisie lamps with an appropriate wick to reproduce soft/atmospheric lighting. A vernacular fashioned item with considerable charm from Northern Scotland ready for another 150 years of utility.