Whats this

[ban-all-sheds]

In the 1930's Sun Ray treatment was popular, it was give to children, members of the forces, mine workers as well as hospital patients. The photo in the attached link shows a similar looking piece of equipment and some scantily clad cinema attendants.

http://www.scienceandsociety.co.uk/results.asp?image=10431868[/QUOTE]
I love the selection of keywords.

If you'd been searching there for "nurse, bizarre, underwear" you'd probably be disappointed....

 

[AMEdinburgh]

I would guess it's a ceiling mounted operating lamp, too.

Whether the red centre was original I don't know as I've never seen one in red. Old enough to have taken one simple incandescent tungsten lamp behind each glass circle.

Usually pseudofocussed so that a central point is illuminated at an appropriate distance from the lamp for a theatre ceiling and if your head's in the way it would block only one lamp and the others would illuminate the spot. Two way deflection through the rim and probably rotation at the ceiling bracket.

 

[Stoday]

It's an egg hatcher. When you've eaten the hen you need warmth to hatch the eggs.

Providing you haven't eaten them...