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Throwing light on Florence Nightingale
HISTORICAL EVIDENCE BEHIND THE LAMP
Visitors to the Florence Nightingale Museum often ask to see the lamp. It seems a reasonable request: the museum of the lady with the lamp should contain the lamp, yet history is rather more complicated than most people believe. If the purpose of a museum is to convey meaning and knowledge through museum objects, the lantern on display - for there is no lamp - demands some detailed explanation. This article attempts to unearth the historical evidence and meanings which lead the Museum to display a humble Arab pattern lantern (figure 1) rather than the expected ceremonial genie lamp (figure 2).
It is hard to imagine that Florence Nightingale was not familiar with the Arab pattern of lantern over four years before going to the Barrack Hospital at Uskudar (Scutari) in Turkey. During her travels in Egypt in 1849/50, Florence Nightingale carried Lane's account of Egyptian customs with her, quoting it in her letters to her family. Lane illustrates the common types of domestic lighting used at the time (figure 3). The copper and linen candle lanterns (Arabic: fanoos) were typically used for evening visits to friends while the wood and glass lamps (Arabic: qindeel) were usually fixed to the outside of houses. Plain or shielded candles were used indoors.
The fanoos may be hand held, set down on a flat surface or suspended from a hook. A waxed linen concertina, shaped by around 20 wire hoops protects the flame of a candle held in the circular brass or copper base. The metal cover has a heat shield, which may be moved aside to reveal the candle when the concertina is collapsed (figure 4), and a handie with a hook from which the lantern can hang. The ornamental piercing of the cover allows air to flow to the candle while the flame is protected from the wind by the linen concertina (figure 5). The waxed finish of the linen renders it slightly translucent, an obvious advantage. The triangular piercings which make up a circular lattice on the cover are the only evidence of ornamentation and although simple it is distinctly Islamic in style. According to Nasr, there is a growing recognition among Islamic...