Images(2)

Punched Tin Lantern

Dateca.1750-1850

OriginAmerica

MediumTinned sheet iron, iron wire and solder

DimensionsHeight: 16" Diameter: 5 7/16"

Credit LineGift of Miss Vivian Sprinkle

Object number1958-75

DescriptionTinned sheet iron lantern composed of a cylindrical body with a conical top, surmounted by a wire-mounted carrying ring. Through a hinge and hasp secured door, its cylindrical candle socket is accessed. Both sides of the door are wired, with the right side wire acting as the hinge pin. Between the ring and the peak of the conical top is a crimped disc, set in place to prevent water from reaching the interior space. In addition to a number of circular ventilation holes punched in the conical top, all surfaces of the body have been pierced (from the inside) with "dots" and "dashes," forming neat rows and radiating fans.
Label TextTin lanterns, made with translucent or transparent panes of cow horn or glass, have been made in Europe since the early sixteenth century. By the latter part of the American colonial period, solid cylindrical types with decoratively pierced walls had appeared. Dispensing with the need to fuss with glass or horn, they allowed light to radiate through the many openings punched into its components prior to assembly. In addition to protecting the candle's flame from a breeze or a light rain, the pierced lantern cast an attractive constellation of light patterns.

Such lighting devices were popular for generations, and were commonly encountered into the middle part of the nineteenth century, when they were eclipsed by more advanced lighting devices. Reclaimed from obsolescence by nostalgia and bolstered by technology, pierced tin lanterns are available once again, either for use with a candle or an electric bulb.
MarkingsNone
ProvenanceEx Coll: Miss Blanche Elizabeth Sprinkle

Exhibition(s)