Model, Ship

Title:

Bone ship model,

Object Name:

Model, Ship

Creator:

Presumably a French prisoner

Date:

circa1812

Material:

Animal bone, wood; baleen

Dimensions:

H-24 W-18 D-10.5 inches
Overall dimensions.
Hull is 21.5" in length
5" beam

Description:

Model of fully-rigged three-masted 80-gun ship constructed from animal bone; the hull is wood covered with strips of bone; two rows of gun ports, baleen strips below ports; decorative paint on figurehead of early warrior; set into wooden stand; in case of glass with maple frame.

The model originally had a mechanism for retracting the guns, but the lines to operate it are missing. The two holes in the stern were for those lines.

Provenance:

Supposedly made by a French prisoner of war during the Napoleonic Wars. Bought in England in 1812. The name Clovis was attached to this model later in the 19th century, but there is no evidence that there was a ship named that, either French or British.
Was Athenaeum #2 on the c.1830 list. The list gives the origin as Fortune Prison, probably an error. Forton Prison near Portsmouth, England, housed French prisoners of war in the Napoleonic Wars.

Subjects:

Ship models, Prisoner of War models, Napoleonic Wars, French prisoners, Forton Prison, Hampshire

People:

Thompson, William W.

Place of Origin:

Forton Prison, near Portsmouth, England

Collection Name:

Art Artifact Collection

Item Number:

C07.519

Accession Number:

C07.519

Type of Material:

Objects

Copyright Statement:

For information regarding copyright, permissions, and reproductions contact the Portsmouth Athenaeum

Credit Line:

Portsmouth Athenaeum

Participating Organization:

Portsmouth Athenaeum