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Model, of French 80-gun warship

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Postcard of Model, of French 80-gun warship.
000-180-002-097-C
© National Museums Scotland

Model, of French 80-gun warship

This model represents a French 80-gun warship from around 1800. Made of bone, the model was made by a French prisoner-of-war. It is built to a scale of 1:192 and was restored and re-rigged in the workshops of the National Museums of Scotland.

The effort taken in the decoration of the work suggests that the prisoner may have been an ivory carver from Brest in Brittany. He must also have had knowledge of contemporary French naval practice as there are a great deal of nautical features and fittings on the model.

During the Napoleonic Wars (1793-1815), many French prisoners were taken to British gaols or prison ships. Some were allowed to settle into local communities and those who were skilled in crafts began to make ship models which could be sold. The models were often built using dried, bleached meat bones. Wood, ivory, straw and human hair were also used. The prisoners had to rely upon memory which makes the scale of some of the models rather doubtful.


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Online ID: 000-180-002-097-C
Image Rights Holder: National Museums Scotland
Project: 0504: National Museums Scotland Part 2
Project description | View all records in project
Ref: National Museums Scotland  T.1925.43
Date: Model & original: Around 1800
Material: Bone
Dimensions: 10.50" between perpendiculars x 2.50" broad
What: Warship / model
Subject: 23. SHIPPING, Sailing Ships, post 1760 (Departmental Classification)
Who:
Where:
Event: Napoleonic Wars
Description: Model in bone of a Napoleonic warship with 80 guns
References:
  • Storer, J D. Ship Models in the Royal Scottish Museum, Edinburgh: A catalogue of models representing the history of shipping from 1500 BC to the present day. Edinburgh: Royal Scottish Museum Information Series, 1985, p 23. 
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