Plinth Top Spotlight on a Concealed Arm

A small spot that mounts inside the plinth and comes up through the top on a concealed arm, so the light source is not on the ceiling and not in the way.

Lighting a display badly is easier than lighting it well and the difference is mostly colour rendering and heat. A high CRI source shows the colour of an object as it is, and a low one flattens reds and greys, which on a painting or a textile is the whole game. Heat matters because a lamp inside a sealed case is a heat source inside a sealed case, which drives the humidity around and does far more damage than the light does. Everything here is CRI 95 or better and runs cool, and the fibre optic kit keeps the source outside the case entirely.

Specification

• Dimensions: see the product name for the length
• Display surface: not applicable
• Construction: aluminium extrusion with an opal diffuser, or a fibre optic harness
• Finish: matt black or white, chosen at order
• Load rating: not applicable
• Levelling: not applicable
• Security: not applicable
• Delivery: one small carton
• Weight: approximately 1.2 kilograms
• Colour temperature: 2700K, or 3000K on request
• Colour rendering: CRI 95 or better, and 97 on the case bars
• Ultraviolet: essentially none, which is what a conservator will ask about
• Dimming: trailing edge, down to 5 per cent
• Power: plug in driver supplied, no electrician needed
• Lux guidance: 50 lux for paper and textiles, 150 for oil and wood

What you get

• The fitting or kit as described
• A plug in dimmable driver and lead
• Mounting clips, tape and cable management
• A lux guidance card for common object types

Setting it up

Plug in, no electrician. Site the driver outside the case where you can reach it, and run the lead through the grommet in the base rather than under the gasket, which is how a sealed case stops being sealed.

Specifying it

Size the case to the object plus the space around it rather than to the object. A rule that works well is a clear 100mm at the sides and 150mm above for anything under half a metre, and more for anything a visitor will walk around. Think about the door before you buy: a hinged door needs swing space and a lift off top needs two people and somewhere to put a large piece of glass. If the case will hold anything light sensitive, take the UV filtering glass, and keep the light level at 50 lux for works on paper and textiles and 150 lux for oil, wood and most other things.