Help with lighting for shadow box display

[tcall]

I am a newbie to mating and framing. I am enjoying it immensely and have been framing and mating my own photography and have also begun framing and mounting for others. I hope it can grow into a small side business as I am not too far from retiring.
My question is about a shadow box frame that has a display of antique type keys and lock. it is an 11x14 inch frame, 2.25 inches deep and the mat opening is 9x6. The box is black and the back is black. I'm thinking of mounting a light inside the box to help illuminate the display. Do you all have any suggestions for this type of lighting?
Thanks for your time and expertise.
Tom

 

[kdub]

Browse through this company's selection. I bought some slim fluorescent cabinet lights from them to use behind a stained glass piece. The customer didn't end up using them so I can't testify to the lights actual performance but their customer service was great. I'd look at either LED's or compact fluorescent lights (I don't care for the "blueness" of LED's but they may have ones with warmer tones). Both don't heat up as much as incandescent bulbs plus they require fewer (if any, in the case of LED's) bulb changes. And the ones I ordered came in different lengths and you could buy flexible connectors to hook several together (so that if you wanted to light it from the sides and well as top and bottom, it would still only require one power cord coming out the back). I'm sure there are battery operated options but then you have to factor in changing those periodically.
http://www.pegasusassociates.com/index.html

Oh and if you mount the lights behind the mat, it will be much easier to hide the fixtures.

Here's a link to the specific ones I mentioned.

http://www.pegasusassociates.com/T5LowProfileFluorescents.html

 

[tcall]

Thanks for your advise.

 

[Rick Granick]

However you proceed, be sure to take steps to minimize any heat buildup. You don't want to create a fire hazard.
Rick

 

[wvframer]

I have used small, cool fluorescents that I obtained from a wholesale electrical supplier that could advise me on the heat. These were larger packages, though. I also used a white LED to light a package about this size. It was powered by a button battery that could be accessed from the back, similar to a clock mechanism. I made it as a display/test. I don't light it all the time, but 3 years later it works fine and I have not had to replace the battery. For a customer, you would need to make it very easy to access the battery.