Rectangular mirror made from a skylight from SMS 'Konigsberg'. The glass in a brass frame, punched all round with fixing holes, inscribed on frame above and below: 'SKYLIGHT OVER "S.M.S. KÖNIGSBERG" CAPTAIN'S CABIN', 'RUFIGI RIVER EAST AFRICA JULY 11TH 1915'.
At the outbreak of the First World War, the 'Konigsberg' was on deployment in German East Africa, where it acted as a surface raider targeting Allied shipping. But these operations were hampered by a lack of coal. The ship was damaged by two British gunboats and scuttled in the Rufigi River on 11 July 1915. However, the German military commander in the colony, Lt-Col. Paul von Lettow-Vorbeck, stripped the ship of its armaments and mounted the ten main guns as field and rail artillery, which were employed in the long East Africa campaign.