Naval historians rely upon the “votive models” in Spanish and Portuguese churches of the 15th and 16th
Centuries. The models were intended to represent the actual vessels to the extent possible because they were
offered as icons to Saint Mary to bring the sailors safely home to their families. Thanks to these few preserved
specimens, we have a good idea of the appearance and construction of the caravels and carracks instrumental in
the discovery of the new routes to the Indies and the Americas. These replicas were not only set near the altar
to implore safety for the supplicant’s seafaring family members but to give thanks for a good catch of fish or a naval victory.
Bjorn Landstrom, whose marvelously graphic The Ship – an Illustrated History (Doubleday, 1961) is still a favorite among established naval historians, depends upon maritime miniatures for much of his excellent artwork. For example, the crude hieroglyphic representations of Nile boats from the period of Pharaoh Mentuhotep, circa 2000 BC, are virtually useless for the accurate depiction of these trailblazing watercraft. Fortunately, the pharaoh’s vizier Mehenkvetre left a large number of models of these boats in his tomb, from which Dr. Landstrom has skillfully reconstituted their image.
Now the trireme was the most important type of Mediterranean warship in 500 BC. The trireme, used by both the Greek defenders and the Persian invaders in the battle of Salamis, is considered to be the key element in the Greek victory, and hence the course of Western Civilization – which hung in the balance.
Once again by constructing and referring to 3-dimensional models, Dr. Landstrom was able to analyze a vexing historical problem in deciphering the prow of a Greek galley depicted on the marble pedestal bearing the famous “Victory of Samothrace” sculpture in the Louvre. It was a period in which the improved double-banked rowing galley, or bireme, was in transition to the triple-banked trireme. Two-dimensional mosaics and relief carvings were very difficult to interpret and led some earlier authorities to assume a certain seating arrangement and positioning of the banks of oars that Landstrom, by use of models, was able to disprove in his illustrations.
The most valuable, and exorbitantly priced, specimens of ship model in existence are the “builders’ models” or “draftsman’s models”, usually from the 17th and 18th centuries. The objective of such models was as a device for the naval architect or shipyard to demonstrate before the mercantile or naval commission (in England it was the fastidious Admiralty Board) that the proffered project was worthy of underwriting.
The emphasis was upon the hull lines, flawlessly duplicating the exact building techniques to be employed on the actual ship. Thus usually one half of the ship’s hull was shown in skeletal form – the ribs only – while the other half had the planks applied using miniaturized versions of the spikes and fasteners used in the shipyards. It was not the object to show the masts and rigging, since these were adaptable and fairly standardized. However, many of the models did add masts and standing rigging (the braces for the masts and yards, rather than lines used in manipulating the sails) to help establish the equilibrium of the prototype.
Model Classifications
The aforementioned votive, or church, models are a mixed lot. More often than not, they are out of proportion and items of equipment or construction details are rendered more creatively than accurately. Nonetheless seamen, their family members or pastors, all of whom were quite familiar with the vessels that their votive effigies emulated, usually crafted these specimens. Some compare favorably with museum exhibition models while others are colorful approximations that come under the rubric “folk art”.
The church model evolved from the folk artist’s rough likeness into the craftsman’s facsimile around the middle of the 17th century. The early examples are crude evocations of contemporary vessels made from memory. They are impressionistic conjectural ships meant to be seen from below as they were suspended from the timbers of a church’s nave, and later, in a town hall. As such, they were generally disproportionately narrow in beam, with absurdly long cannons grotesquely jutting from the sides.
Also straddling the line between realism and whimsy are commemorative models made by seamen who served on the vessels and “prisoner of war” models. After a hardy, adventurous life at sea, a land-bound sailor would often fashion a relic of his seafaring days from whatever materials were at hand. He did not work from plans or diagrams, using only his well-versed memory of the details of his ship. His mind’s eye would recreate his ship’s lines, its general arrangement, day-to-day artifacts and structures perhaps enhanced by a print, painting, or after the mid-19th century a photograph.
Even the more amateurish examples are quite good, even if out of true scale. The sailor oftentimes would set his diminutive ship on a plaster-of-Paris base representing a stormy seaway and encase the whole in a “shadow box” frame protected by a glass pane, either meant to be mounted on a wall or free-standing. The backdrop would feature such embellishments as light-houses, tugs and harbors with the occasional cottage waiting ashore. Even little crewmen were portrayed on deck, or up in the crows-nests.
The shadow box usually rendered the ship as a half-hull version to keep the depth to a reasonable proportion. In any event the deck features were symmetrical on the real vessel so little was lost.
During the prolonged conflict between Napoleonic France and Georgian England, French captives would while away the forlorn months on English prison ships by constructing models of the warships on which they served. The guards allowed these to be sold so that the prisoner could acquire some cash to exchange for necessities.
These artifacts were carved from the bones of the beef rations allowed the French prisoners-of-war during their incarceration in England and the rigging was usually comprised of strands of the prisoner’s hair. The crafting of this type of model was characteristic of the period of the Anglo-French wars (1756-1815), and most of these works were produced during the Napoleonic conflicts. While not built to scale, these miniature vessels are every bit as thorough in their workmanship as their wooden counterparts.
More rarely, some examples were made from boxwood. Ships’ carpenters, who were intimately familiar with the structure of the vessels on which they served, usually rendered the wooden examples from scraps of lumber furnished by obliging watchmen. Hence these wooden models tend to be far more precise than their bone counterparts.
These “prisoner of war models” dating from the late 1700s and early 1800s, are worth thousands of dollars on today’s market. Considering the conditions under which they were fabricated, the prisoner models are incredibly well made. Averaging anywhere from ten to twenty inches in length, the last I checked these pint-sized masterpieces were fetching $7,000-$20,000.
Museum Collections -- Creme de la creme
The United States Naval Academy’s Gallery of Ships houses one of the world's finest collections of warship models from the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries.
Each of these priceless models was constructed within a few years of the ship or ship type it represents. The models were crafted with remarkable precision. Careful attention was paid to detail, especially the carvings and fittings above and below decks. This supreme craftsmanship rendered the models into exquisite works of art, and today they often constitute the only surviving physical record of ships built during the classic Age of Sail.
The Rogers Ship Model Collection includes 108 ship and boat models of the sailing ship era dating from 1650 to 1850. It contains scale models built for the British Admiralty and original display cabinets from the 17th century. The collection, bequeathed to the Naval Academy in 1935 by Colonel Henry Huddleston Rogers, is one of the most valuable of its type in the world.
The Naval Academy's bone model collection ranks as one of the largest such prisoner of war series in the world. The exhibit is a poignant, fascinating tribute to the skill and indefatigability of prisoners who were kept in deplorable conditions for years on end.
Among the cases there are several reproductions of prints whose images illustrate naval combat involving ships like those represented by the models. Included are several outstanding examples depicting early American fighting ships, including the Continental frigate Hancock and Jean-Paul Jones' famous Bonhomme Richard.
While on the topic of museum collections, I’d be remiss if I failed to mention The Mariners' Museum in Newport News, Virginia – not far from Norfolk and Yorktown. The exhibits are comprised of a good deal of artifacts rescued from shipwrecks and ships gone to the wreckers as well as paintings, photos, and real-scale mock-ups of portions of ships. However their collection of models rivals that of the Naval Academy.
More significantly, in order to recognize and encourage excellence in the art of building scale ship models, the Mariner’s Museum holds an international competition and exhibition every five years. The competition is open to completed models built to scale by individual model-makers, professional or amateur, of all ages.
The Lure and Lore of Model Ships
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© Copyright 2002 by David W. Tschanz.
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