Whale-oil lamp 1830 - 1840

This clear glass whale-oil lamp, created between 1830 and 1840, is a beautiful example of a functional object from the 19th century. The lamp is a simple, elegant design with a bulbous globe and a flared base. The cut glass design adds a touch of elegance to this everyday object, which would have been used to light homes before the advent of electricity. It is now part of the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City. The artist of this piece, Thomas Cains, lived from 1812 to 1820 and was a glassmaker, which means that he was a maker of glass items, not an artist in the traditional sense.