The sextant has an anodized brass three-circle pattern frame and a wooden handle. The tangent screw and clamping screw are on the back of the index arm. The instrument has four shades, two grey, one green, and one red, and three horizon shades in green, grey, and red. Index-glass adjustment is made by a screw and on the horizon-glass by capstan screws.

Attached to the sextant is a magnifier on a 76mm swivelling arm, with a frosted glass shade. There is also a threaded telescope bracket in two parts, fitted for correcting collimation error. It has perpendicular adjustment made by a rising-piece and a milled knob. The telescope is 172 mm in length with an inverted image and four cross wires. A second telescope is 83 mm long with an erect image. The sight-tube is 81 mm in length with a red shaded eyepiece and an adjusting pin, which is missing.

The instrument has a polished brass limb with inlaid silver scale from -5° to 155° by 10 arcminutes, measuring to 132°. The sextant has a silver vernier measuring to 10 arcseconds, with zero at the right.

The sextant is contained in a fitted wooden box, with a trade label in the lid for Dobbie, Son and Hutton, London E.C., Glasgow House, Alexander Dobbie and Son (after 1894). There is also, on the lid, a silver plate inscribed ‘Thames Nautical Training College HMS Worcester, Port of London. Prize for proficiency in the use of Sextant, Midsummer 1877’.

This object belonged to Arthur Redmond Pilkington (born 1860), which was won as a prize. He was later master of the barque ‘Catalina’, the clipper ‘Mikado’, the ‘Nurembidgee’, the ‘Wooloomooloo’ and the ‘Fifeshire’. HMS ‘Worcester’ was the training ship of the Thames Nautical Training College, founded in 1862.