Accession No
4414
Brief Description
Geissler tube with devil’s head blown in the glass, French [attributed], late 19th Century
Origin
France [tentative attribution]
Maker
Class
physics; demonstration
Earliest Date
1860
Latest Date
1900
Inscription Date
Material
glass (uranium glass); metal; wood
Dimensions
height 316mm
Special Collection
Provenance
Purchased in Christie’s Nicholas Webster Collection sale, 26/09/1991, lot 50.
Inscription
Description Notes
Geissler tube with devil’s head blown in the glass, c. 1900 - 1925.
Fancy discharge tube in blown glass with 3 bulbed shape. In centre bulb is a glass devil’s head with green tinge. Stands in black-painted carved wood holder. Connection at bottom for current to pass through and so illuminate the devil’s head by mixing with the gas trapped in the tube.
Has a black-painted wooden stand.
References
Events
Description
Discharge tubes contain one or a combination of the following: rarefied (thinned) gasses such as neon or argon, conductive liquids or minerals. When an electrical charge is passed through the tube different effects are created.
FM:39885
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