Lot 306
FINE FRENCH PRISONER-OF-WAR MAHOGANY AND BONE MODEL OF A BARQUE
EARLY 19TH CENTURY
Five Centuries: Furniture, Paintings & Works of Art
Auction: Day One: 01 September 2021 | From 11:00
Description
fully rigged, in a modern glazed display case
Dimensions
the case 73cm wide, 45.5cm high, 30cm deep, the ship approx 60cm long
Provenance
Provenance: By repute, acquired from a descendant of the First Keeper of the Bass Rock Lighthouse who owned it in the early part of the 20th century.
Footnote
Note: There were two prisons in Scotland that housed Napoleonic French prisoners of war: one in Edinburgh and the other in Perth. Prisoners used what materials they could acquire to build items to sell to supplement their rations. Miniature ornaments, models and toys were typically made using straw, wood, bone and even human hair. Many of the items made were extraordinary in their complexity. The bone deck fittings and figurehead on the present lot are typical of prisoner of war work, as is the inlaid baseboard.