Weaver's bowl
Category
Historic Services / Lighting
Date
1800 - 1900
Materials
Glass
Measurements
254 mm (Height); 200 mm (Diameter)
Order this imageCollection
Townend, Cumbria
NT 478148
Caption
This simple glass bowl boasts no intricate details or hidden decoration, but when filled with water and placed in front of a burning candle it could reflect light around a room. Although a poor substitute for natural light, a weaver’s bowl traditionally allowed 19th-century agricultural workers and farmers to work into the evening, at a time when the textile industry relied on hand-weaving at home. Hand-weaving supplemented the income of farmers and farm workers. With the ability to make one candle last longer into a dark evening, the weaver’s bowl would have been a critical aid for a working family. The middle-class Browne family of Townend, who owned this example, would not have relied on it for income, although their tenants might have had similar devices. When the family or their servants did use the bowl for extra light, it may have been for embroidery, or mending clothes. Although perhaps curious to modern eyes, the weaver’s bowl literally shines a light on the struggles of rural workers, and their need to stretch every resource – even candlelight – to its utmost.
Summary
Light Intensifier in the form of a hand blown glass bowl with a circular base and lip to top (late 18th - early 19th century); used for increasing the intensity of candlelight. The bowl was filled with water and a candle placed behind it. The light was then concentrated onto a small area, enabling spinning, embroidery, etc.