/Objets d'art

Berger lamps are a curious nineteenth-century invention by Maurice Berger, used to fragrance the home.  They consist of the lamp itself - usually made of decorative glass or crystal - fitted with a porous, ceramic stone attached to a wick.  The stone sits at the opening of the lamp and the wick rests inside of the lamp, which is filled with an alcohol-based fluid (scented or unscented).  The stone is lit, which sends up a two-inch flame and is left to run for a few minutes before it’s blown out. As the flame burns, the liquid is drawn up the wick, and once it’s blown out, the lamp is active.  It comes with two caps: a cage-like cap used to cover the hot stone while allowing air to circulate, and a fitted cap used to extinguish the lamp by cutting off the air flow.

The theory is that the heat of the stone draws bacteria and micro-organisms out of the air, supported by research at the Université de Lyon and the independent research company, Agro Hall. Berger himself invented the lamp to purify the air in hospitals, using an unscented alcohol solution, but if a scented liquid is used, a fragrance is also released into the air.

I picked up one of these lamps at a French import shop.  I noticed a shelf of beautifully decorated glass, what looked like perfume bottles until I noticed the dark stone.  The clerk explained that these are commonly used in Europe but never really took off in the States, maybe because they’re a little expensive, or maybe because we’ve got our Glade Plug-ins.  So I decided to pick up a lavender glass lamp and brought it home to give it a try.  I’m not a huge fan of home fragrances, since everything smells toxic and saccharine to me, but I’ve got a chain-smoking neighbor and I liked the idea of killing off the occasional waft of old cigarettes.  While I wasn’t sure whether I believed it could actually purify the air, my inner magpie liked the pretty glass bottle and figured that would be reason enough to try it out.

It works beautifully.  Lampe Berger is the century-old company with a claim to the original patent, but now that the patent has run out, there are other companies that offer these catalytic lamps, also called an effusion lamps.  Lampe Berger offers a seemingly exhaustive range of scented liquids, woody and earthy, floral and perfumed, as well as what it calls ‘Neutral,’ an unscented solution that can be used on its own or mixed with other liquids to soften the intensity.  To me, the fragrances are hit or miss, but I suppose that’s a matter of preference. Some are subtle and others, like Amber Powder, are strong and sensual but can be overpowering if left to run for too long.  All of the liquids burn very cleanly and do not produce smoke.