A Door to Another World: Entering the Great Cabin on Vasa

Summary

This is an abstract from the session entitled "Expressions of Social Space and Identity: Interior Furnishings and Clothing from the Swedish Warship Vasa of 1628." , at the 2020 annual meeting of the Society for Historical Archaeology.

The great cabin on a capital warship has a unique legal status, as an embassy and seat of power. The king is ever present, whether on board or not. The space is designed to convey the majesty of the owner and to frame the power relationships between the occupant and visitors. In entering this space, the visitor passes from the ship to the royal palace. The door from the steerage functions as a portal from one world to another and prepares the visitor to enter the royal presence. The door is thus a special focus in the overall design of the furnishings and is the most elaborate single composition in the entire sterncastle. This paper will present a reconstruction and interpretation of the door, which is almost completely preserved and shows a classicizing Renaissance theme as executed by craftsmen trained in the northern German tradition of wood carving and joinery.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Expressions of Social Space and Identity: Interior Furnishings and Clothing from the Swedish Warship Vasa of 1628.   •
• Society for Historical Archaeology 2020

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Individual & Institutional Roles

Contact(s): Society for Historical Archaeology

Record Identifiers

PaperId(s): 774