Ship Lantern

anonymous, 1650 - 1700

Ship’s lanterns, 17th century. Large vessels sometimes carried as many as five of these lanterns. They would be fixed to the stern of the ship. Candles burned inside to produce the light. The original mica or horn between the carved figures is missing.

  • Artwork typeship lantarn
  • Object numberNG-MC-1051
  • Dimensionsheight 340 cm x diameter 118 cm
  • Physical characteristicswood and iron

Identification

  • Title(s)

    Ship Lantern

  • Object type

  • Object number

    NG-MC-1051

  • Description

    Achtkantige scheepslantaarn met bolvormig dak. Elk der acht stijlen is versierd met een menselijke figuur ten voeten uit, sommige vrouwen in klassieke gewaden, andere Nederlandse kooplieden. Het voetstuk is op de acht hoeken met lofwerk versierd. Deze lantaarn is vermoedelijk afkomstig van een 17de-eeuws Nederlands oorlogsschip.

  • Part of catalogue

Creation

  • Creation

    maker: anonymous, Netherlands

  • Dating

    1650 - 1700

  • Search further with

Material and technique

  • Physical description

    wood and iron

  • Dimensions

    height 340 cm x diameter 118 cm

This work is about

  • Subject

  • Place

  • Period

    1600 - 1700

Acquisition and rights

  • Copyright

    Public domain

  • Provenance

    ...; transferred from the Ministerie van Marine (Department of the Navy), The Hague, to the museum, 1883

Documentation

Related objects

  • Related

Persistent URL

Questions?

Do you spot a mistake? Or do you have information about the object? Let us know!

anonymous

Ship Lantern

Netherlands, 1650 - 1700

Provenance

...; transferred from the Ministerie van Marine (Department of the Navy), The Hague, to the museum, 1883

Object number: NG-MC-1051

Entry

Octagonal ship lantern with dome-shaped roofing. Each of the eight side bars is ornamented with a human figure, and some are of women in classical dress, some are of Dutch merchants.

This stern lantern probably came from a seventeenth-century Dutch warship. Its design is identical to that of lantern NG-MC-1052, but slightly taller. It is likely that the ship originally had three lanterns; the tallest one fitted in the middle, the smaller two in both corners.

Literature

J.M. Obreen et al., handwritten inventory list for items 944 to 1431, 1884, manuscript in HNA 476 RMA, inv. no. 1089, no. 1051; L.G. Carr Laughton, Old Ship Figure-Heads and Sterns, London/New York 1925, pp. 158-60; R. van Luttervelt, Oude schepen / Old Ships, Amsterdam 1957, no. 17

Citation

J. van der Vliet, 2016, 'anonymous, Ship Lantern, Netherlands, 1650 - 1700', in J. van der Vliet and A. Lemmers (eds.), Navy Models in the Rijksmuseum, online coll. cat. Amsterdam: https://data.rijksmuseum.nl/20054079

(accessed 3 February 2026 06:23:08).