Oil lamp

An oil lamp made of metal from a can with a light bulb as a reservoir, Benin. The oil reservoir is an upside-down light bulb surrounded by a frame made of tin strips. The strips have been used to attach the bulb to the base, which is the top of a spray bottle (?). At the neck of the lamp, the metal strips have been bent into a decorative accordion fold, and one strip forms the handle of the lamp. At the top is a silver tin cylinder with a lid and a wick holder. The wick is missing.

There are a huge number of people in the world without electricity, including many in Sub-Saharan Africa. In addition, in many countries, energy production is very small-scale and underdeveloped and, therefore, expensive, and there is not enough electricity for everyone, not even for lighting. The distribution of electricity is also regulated by cutting it off from time to time.