Wall lamp

Sconce, one of twelve identical items in the collection of the museum. A sconce is a lamp or candleholder, most commonly wall-mounted, frequently with a glass or metal mirror to reflect the light. Initially, sconces were standing lamps, most commonly used until kerosene lamps were introduced. A characteristic trait of theirs was the placement of the burner beside the oil container, and not on top of it. In the 1880s, hanging sconces were used, which quickly became a commonplace decorative interior design feature. On of eight sconces decorating the representative interior on the first floor of the castle of Łańcut. It stems from the years 1800-1802. The sconces were designed as an amendment to the interior design of this hall. They were most likely authored by Piotr Aigner, a known architect working on commissions of duchess Izabela Lubomirska, wife of marshal Lubomirski; she was the last owner of Łańcut who came from the Lubomirscy family. The neoclassicist sconces (gold, referring to the colour of the decoration of the dining room chairs) of gilded wood, with a small trunk in the form of a rosette enveloped by three acanthus leaves, from which three arms of the holder, bent to shape, protrude; with round bobeches of decorative leaves and candle sleeves made of vertically arranged leaves. As a light source, the candle was in common use until the invention of the light bulb, meaning, until the 19th century, afterwards its use was guided by aesthetic considerations. Candles were known in antiquity, their wicks were made of linen coated with beeswax, with the homes of those less well off using animal tallow (tallow candles). Contemporary bees wax candles are equally expansive, hence the majority is made of paraffin or stearin. The arm bases are ribbed at the top, and at the bottom they are embedded in decoratively arranged acanthus leaves. The sconces decorate the Grand Dining Hall on the first floor of the castle.