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An opium lamp is an oil lamp designed specifically to facilitate the vaporization and inhalation of
/ref> Opium lamps were crafted mainly in China before the communist revolution in 1949 brought opium smoking to an abrupt halt there. Small-scale production of opium lamps continued in Hong Kong and parts of Southeast Asia including Vietnam until the mid-1960s. Opium lamps were usually crafted from one or more types of metal such as silver, brass or
Opium Museum
Oil lamp Opium culture
An opium lamp is an oil lamp designed specifically to facilitate the vaporization and inhalation of opium
Opium (or poppy tears, scientific name: ''Lachryma papaveris'') is dried latex obtained from the seed capsules of the opium poppy ''Papaver somniferum''. Approximately 12 percent of opium is made up of the analgesic alkaloid morphine, which i ...
. Opium lamps differ from conventional lamps for lighting in that they are designed to channel an exact amount of heat upward through their funnel-shaped chimneys. An opium pipe
An opium pipe is a pipe designed for the evaporation and inhalation of opium. True opium pipes allow for the opiate to be vaporized while being heated over a special oil lamp known as an opium lamp. It is thought that this manner of "smoking" opi ...
, its pipe-bowl primed with a small dose of opium known as a "pill," was held over the opium lamp causing the opium to vaporize and allowing the smoker to inhale the vapors.Opium Museum/ref> Opium lamps were crafted mainly in China before the communist revolution in 1949 brought opium smoking to an abrupt halt there. Small-scale production of opium lamps continued in Hong Kong and parts of Southeast Asia including Vietnam until the mid-1960s. Opium lamps were usually crafted from one or more types of metal such as silver, brass or
paktong
Nickel silver, Maillechort, German silver, Argentan, new silver, nickel brass, albata, alpacca, is a copper alloy with nickel and often zinc. The usual formulation is 60% copper, 20% nickel and 20% zinc. Nickel silver does not contain the eleme ...
, an alloy also known as nickel silver. Often the metal parts of the lamp were adorned with cloisonné
Cloisonné () is an ancient technique for decorating metalwork objects with colored material held in place or separated by metal strips or wire, normally of gold. In recent centuries, vitreous enamel has been used, but inlays of cut gemstones, ...
. The opium lamp's distinctive chimney was made from glass. Inexpensive lamps made entirely of molded glass were mass-produced and pieces of them are commonly found at historic Chinese settlements, such as the sites of former Chinese camps in the California goldfields. Examples of opium lamps crafted from Peking glass are sought after by collectors.{{cite book , first=Steven , last=Martin , year=2007 , title=The Art of Opium Antiques , isbn=974-9511-22-0
Due to opium eradication campaigns in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, antique opium lamps are now rare.
Further reading
* Steven Martin, ''The Art of Opium Antiques'' (Silkworm Books, 2007). Photograph-driven descriptions of antique Chinese and Vietnamese opium smoking paraphernalia.References
External links
Opium Museum
Oil lamp Opium culture