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History of candle making
Candle making was developed independently in a number of countries around the world.
Candles were primarily made from tallow and beeswax in Europe from the Roman period until the modern era, when spermaceti (from sperm whales) was used in the 18th and 19th centuries, and purified animal fats (stearin) and paraffin wax since the 19th century. In China, textual evidence suggests that candles may have been made from whale fat in the Qin dynasty (221–206 BCE). Chinese candles may be made from beeswax, or stillingia tallow from Chinese tallow tree, or Chinese wax derived from insects. While the Japanese may use Japan wax from the Japanese wax tree. In India, wax from boiling cinnamon was used for temple candles.
In Europe, a number of techniques were used to make candles in the early periods. These may be dipping or drawing a wick in molten wax or tallow, shaping it by hand by rolling soft wax around a wick, or pouring wax or tallow over the wick. Moulds were used later, and in the 19th century, large-scale industrial manufacturing technique was introduced for the mass production of candles. Candle use declined with the arrival of other methods of lighting such as electric light, although candles are still being made.
Before candles were invented, ancient people used open fire, torches, splinters of resinous wood, and lamps to provide light at night. Primitive oil lamps in which a lit wick rested in a pool of oil or fat were used from the Paleolithic period, and pottery and stone lamps from the Neolithic period have been found. Candles may have been produced after the early Bronze Age, but it is unclear when and where candles were first used. Objects that could possibly be candle holders have been found in Babylonian and middle Minoan cultures, as well as in the tomb of Tutankhamun, and a possible depiction of a lit candle can be seen in the tomb of Amenemhat. However, the candles used in the early periods may not resemble current forms and were likely made from plant materials dipped in animal fat. Ancient Greeks offered to moon goddess Artemis moon-shaped honey cakes said to be lit by little torches or candles, and this has been proposed as the origin of the tradition of putting candles on birthday cakes. However, cakes with any resemblance to modern Western birthday cakes only arose by around 1600 in Europe. and ancient Greece used torches and oil lamps, and may have adopted candle use only in a later period from Rome.
It is often believed that the use of wicked candles developed in Italy in the Etruscan period; a picture of a candlestick exists in an Etruscan tomb at Orvieto, and the earliest Etruscan candlestick may date from the 7th century BC. Candles may have evolved from tapers (long thin candles) with wicks of oakum and other plant fibre soaked in fat, pitch or oil. Candles of antiquity were made from various forms of natural fat, tallow, and wax, and Romans made true dipped candles from tallow and beeswax. Beeswax candles were expensive and their use was limited to the wealthy. Oil lamps were the most widely used source of illumination in Roman Italy, but candles were common and regularly given as gifts during Saturnalia.
In Christian churches, candles gained significance in their decorative, symbolic and ceremonial uses. Wax candles, or candelae cereae recorded at the end of the 3rd century, were documented as Easter candles in Spain and Italy in the 4th century, the Christian festival Candlemas was named after the candle, and Pope Sergius I instituted the procession of lighted candles. Papal bulls decreed that tallow be excluded from use in altar candles, and high beeswax content was necessary for the candles of the high altar.
Beeswax was a byproduct of honey collection, and it was collected after honey had been extracted, and purified by boiling it in seawater a few times. The early candles were produced using a number of methods: dipping or drawing the wick in molten fat or wax repeatedly until it reached the desired size, building the candle by hand by rolling soft wax around a wick, or pouring fat or wax onto a wick to build up the candle. The use of moulds was a 14th-century development.
In China, the mausoleum of Qin Shi Huang (259–210 BC), first emperor of China, was said by historian Sima Qian to contain candles made from whale fat. The word zhú was used for "candle" during the Warring States period (403–221 BCE); some excavated bronzewares from that era feature a pricket thought to hold a candle.
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History of candle making
Candle making was developed independently in a number of countries around the world.
Candles were primarily made from tallow and beeswax in Europe from the Roman period until the modern era, when spermaceti (from sperm whales) was used in the 18th and 19th centuries, and purified animal fats (stearin) and paraffin wax since the 19th century. In China, textual evidence suggests that candles may have been made from whale fat in the Qin dynasty (221–206 BCE). Chinese candles may be made from beeswax, or stillingia tallow from Chinese tallow tree, or Chinese wax derived from insects. While the Japanese may use Japan wax from the Japanese wax tree. In India, wax from boiling cinnamon was used for temple candles.
In Europe, a number of techniques were used to make candles in the early periods. These may be dipping or drawing a wick in molten wax or tallow, shaping it by hand by rolling soft wax around a wick, or pouring wax or tallow over the wick. Moulds were used later, and in the 19th century, large-scale industrial manufacturing technique was introduced for the mass production of candles. Candle use declined with the arrival of other methods of lighting such as electric light, although candles are still being made.
Before candles were invented, ancient people used open fire, torches, splinters of resinous wood, and lamps to provide light at night. Primitive oil lamps in which a lit wick rested in a pool of oil or fat were used from the Paleolithic period, and pottery and stone lamps from the Neolithic period have been found. Candles may have been produced after the early Bronze Age, but it is unclear when and where candles were first used. Objects that could possibly be candle holders have been found in Babylonian and middle Minoan cultures, as well as in the tomb of Tutankhamun, and a possible depiction of a lit candle can be seen in the tomb of Amenemhat. However, the candles used in the early periods may not resemble current forms and were likely made from plant materials dipped in animal fat. Ancient Greeks offered to moon goddess Artemis moon-shaped honey cakes said to be lit by little torches or candles, and this has been proposed as the origin of the tradition of putting candles on birthday cakes. However, cakes with any resemblance to modern Western birthday cakes only arose by around 1600 in Europe. and ancient Greece used torches and oil lamps, and may have adopted candle use only in a later period from Rome.
It is often believed that the use of wicked candles developed in Italy in the Etruscan period; a picture of a candlestick exists in an Etruscan tomb at Orvieto, and the earliest Etruscan candlestick may date from the 7th century BC. Candles may have evolved from tapers (long thin candles) with wicks of oakum and other plant fibre soaked in fat, pitch or oil. Candles of antiquity were made from various forms of natural fat, tallow, and wax, and Romans made true dipped candles from tallow and beeswax. Beeswax candles were expensive and their use was limited to the wealthy. Oil lamps were the most widely used source of illumination in Roman Italy, but candles were common and regularly given as gifts during Saturnalia.
In Christian churches, candles gained significance in their decorative, symbolic and ceremonial uses. Wax candles, or candelae cereae recorded at the end of the 3rd century, were documented as Easter candles in Spain and Italy in the 4th century, the Christian festival Candlemas was named after the candle, and Pope Sergius I instituted the procession of lighted candles. Papal bulls decreed that tallow be excluded from use in altar candles, and high beeswax content was necessary for the candles of the high altar.
Beeswax was a byproduct of honey collection, and it was collected after honey had been extracted, and purified by boiling it in seawater a few times. The early candles were produced using a number of methods: dipping or drawing the wick in molten fat or wax repeatedly until it reached the desired size, building the candle by hand by rolling soft wax around a wick, or pouring fat or wax onto a wick to build up the candle. The use of moulds was a 14th-century development.
In China, the mausoleum of Qin Shi Huang (259–210 BC), first emperor of China, was said by historian Sima Qian to contain candles made from whale fat. The word zhú was used for "candle" during the Warring States period (403–221 BCE); some excavated bronzewares from that era feature a pricket thought to hold a candle.