deck prism
Date: circa 1986
Inventory Number: 1997-1-1673
Classification: Prism
Subject:
Maker: Mystic Seaport Museum (1930-present)
Cultural Region:
Place of Origin:
Dimensions:
10.5 × 10.4 × 11.9 cm (4 1/8 × 4 1/8 × 4 11/16 in.)
Accessories: velvet bag; authentication card
Description:
This is a glass replica of a deck prism found on a nineteenth-century whaler ship. It has six sides. The hexagonal base was flush with the deck and the pyramidal prism was pointing downward in order to provide light below deck. It is a hand-poured reproduction of the original prisms.
Signedunsigned
FunctionAccording to the Mystic Seaport Museum website: "In the days before electricity, light below a vessel's deck was limited to candles, oil and kerosene lamps. A clever solution for the light problem was the deck prism. Laid flush into the deck, the prism point drew light down below decks. This prism is an exact reproduction of Mystic Seaport's last remaining original Charles W. Morgan deck prism.
See the museum store, where such prisms are still sold as replicas.
For more on the Charles W. Morgan whaler, see the following website.
See the museum store, where such prisms are still sold as replicas.
For more on the Charles W. Morgan whaler, see the following website.
Curatorial RemarksThe tag with the object states, "Wheatland suggests that this is stored with the original rectangular glass block". SMS 7/7/2021
ProvenanceFrom David P. Wheatland.