OK so possibly OT: Gambal camp lamp
 

well, it was cheap, and if the story was BS then I'm going to give it to my mother to sell on her ebay account!

This is a steel gimbal oil lamp, can anyone shed any light on it's origins? (OMG terrible pun I know, apologies all round).

http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c5...IM000068-2.jpg

Hi Gene,
it looks to be a boat lamp, the gimble arrangement to keep the lamp 'stable' whilst the boat 'pitched and rolled'. I believe the lower oil light 'bowl' needs to be relatively heavy to help that stability....repo's are lighter.

Kind Regards David

Hi David,

Its about 3 1/2 inches across, quite heavy, all iron/steel. Any idea where its from?

Thanks
Gene

No ideas guys?

I'd tend to go with David's assesment .

A gimbaled lamp to be hung from a beam belowdeck out of the wind . :)

Hi Rick,
Thanks mate, but what country? It looks to have some age..

About the oldest one I've ever seen ... if it is what I think it is . :shrug:

Where are our Pirate collectors ?!?

Origin ?
I couldn't hazard a guess . :confused:

Hi Gene,
I have seen something similar.....can't remember where. Most maritime lamps were brass (obviously more corrosion resistant) However some older ones were steel/iron.
I would check the 'pivots' of the gimble arrangement for wear ...may give a better indication of age. If no wear ....almost certainly a copy.

By the way, I'm curious,.........what was the 'story'

Regards David

ello mate. Its a fairly rough thing, made like armour!
Story wasn't particularly interesting. Seller thought it was Arab early 20th C. I've only seen the brass ones before (the ornate persian ball ones) so thought it might be true.

If its a copy, they copied a butt-ugly one!

Ive seen copies of the decorated pierced bronze ones before. Would it be worth faking one this basic?

http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c5...IM000101-1.jpg