Object data
wood, brass, mica, yarn and paint
model: height 52.5 cm × width 148.2 cm × depth 34.2 cm
packaging capsule: height 51 cm × width 146 cm × depth 39 cm
anonymous
Model of a 74-Gun Ship on a Slipway
Amsterdam, Amsterdam, France, c. 1797 - c. 1800
Conservation
- Ab Hoving, June 2011: minor repairs; cleaned
Provenance
...; collection Jochem Pietersz Asmus (1755-1837), Amsterdam, 1807;1 sent to the Ministerie van Marine (Department of the Navy), The Hague, October 1818;2 transferred to the museum, 1883
Object number: NG-MC-504
Copyright: Public domain
Entry
Wooden construction model of the hull of a ship in a cradle on a slipway according to the French method of launching.
On the hull the planking to port has been left off below the wale, and to starboard above the wale. Three sections to starboard with parts of the frames can be removed. Seventy-six gun ports are indicated in three tiers, plus eight more gun emplacements on the forecastle. The beakhead is detailed only to port. It shows the figurehead of a standing woman in Roman dress holding a laurel wreath in her uplifted hand. The stern has a round tuck with two chase ports in the counter.
The single-storey taffrail is decorated with allegorical figures, trophies of arms and an oval shield with a wreath and a twig. At the top two gun ports of the quarterdeck are indicated. A single-storey quarter gallery has been added to the starboard side only, with an open head on top of it. The rudder has a square head with holes for two tillers, six rudder irons and a rudder pendant. A double steering wheel is fitted on the quarterdeck. The orlop and gun deck are only indicated by their timbering, the main deck, forecastle and quarterdeck are closed. There is a loose cabin on the quarterdeck after the French fashion of the ‘carrosse’. Gangways and beams are positioned over the waist. The gangway to starboard is broad and supported by wooden knees, the one to port is narrow and has metal knees.
The model is fitted with double riding bitts, two double capstans, two simple pumps and a brake pump, a ship’s bell and chimney for the galley on the forecastle, loose hatches and gratings. The frames have fifteen parts, crossing riders are specified at the mast step of the mainmast. All the channels are fitted above the gun ports of the main deck, the main and mizzen channels are continuous. The hull has a shallow S-bottom and is carvel-built. The sheer is very slight, two wales and a sheer rail are indicated, painted black.
This model represents a French 74-gun ship with the French method of launching3 on a ‘berceau’, as specified by Jochem Pietersz Asmus (1755-1837) after his journey through France in 1797 to study shipbuilding there.4 It was part of his private collection in 18075 and was transferred to the Navy Model Room in 1818.6
Literature
J.P. Asmus, Rapport van een reize naar de Fransche zeehavens aan den Oceaan in den jaar 1797, op ordre van het Bataafsche Gouvernement-Verzameling van differente stukken gedurende de reize naar de Fransche zeehavens in den Oceaan in den jaare 1797, 2 vols., s.l. 1797-1801, manuscript in HNA 2.01.29.01 Dept. Marine, inv. no. 451-18; J.M. Obreen, Catalogus der verzameling modellen van het Departement van Marine, The Hague 1858, no. 504; F.H. Chapman, Architectura Navalis Mercatoria, Stockholm 1775 (facsimile New York 1967), pl. LXI, fig. 1; A.A. Lemmers, Techniek op schaal. Modellen en het technologiebeleid van de Marine 1725-1885, Amsterdam 1996, pp. 96, 98
Citation
J. van der Vliet, 2016, 'anonymous, Model of a 74-Gun Ship on a Slipway, Amsterdam, c. 1797 - c. 1800', in J. van der Vliet and A. Lemmers (eds.), Navy Models in the Rijksmuseum, online coll. cat. Amsterdam: hdl.handle.net/10934/RM0001.COLLECT.244317
(accessed 25 April 2024 04:03:00).