Lamp

A hanging oil lamp, made of silver-toned metal. It has a cylindrical neck with curved-out rims, a five-sided body with openwork ornament and applied cherubim with loop-shaped rings for the suspension chains. The body tapers into a lower part in the form of a smoothly narrowing cup-shaped vessel, ending in a cone-shaped finial ornamented with relief leaves.

The oil lamp belonged to the pre-war collection of the Sloboda Ukraine Museum named after H. S. Skovoroda. During the Second World War it was evacuated and returned to Kharkiv in November 1944.

Note: the oil lamp is a traditional lamp with a flame, used during religious rites and before icons. In churches, oil lamps are lit during services, feasts, and prayers. A lit lamp reminds the faithful that God is the true Light, which dispels the darkness of evil, sin, and despair.