Recognising and understanding the object
- Materials
- wood, metal
- Parts
- stand or mounting, splint clamp
- Purpose
- Hold a burning splint at a useful height.
- Period
- Context of nineteenth- and twentieth-century household collections and historical accounts; individual objects differ in date.
- Place and distribution
- Dzūkija examples discussed by Alytus Museum.
What it is and how it works
A žibinčius held a burning sliver of wood, known as a balana. The holder was the apparatus; the splint supplied the light. Keeping these two things separate makes sense of an unfamiliar museum stand and of Lithuanian references to working by splint light.
Evidence and examples
Alytus Museum describes standing, suspended and wall-mounted versions. A vessel of water could catch falling embers below the splint. Its example associated with the Rudnia area documents one local form, rather than a design that should be assigned to every Lithuanian household.
How to identify it
First locate the clamp or fixing point, then imagine where the light source would sit. A wooden stand without a fuel reservoir suggests a splint holder rather than a kerosene lamp. Height adjustment and mounting arrangements explain its relation to a working surface. Scorching can be a clue, but cannot identify an object on its own.
