4530

Circa 1780

EXTREMELY RARE AND IMPORTANT DOCKYARD SCALE MODEL OF A FRENCH FIRST-RATE 128-GUN SHIP OF THE LINE

Beautifully fashioned hull bearing a true resemblance to the ship to be built, as befitting a dockyard model. Buff-colored hull painted white below the waterline and with black strakes. Gunports fitted with turned brass cannons and red lids. Beautifully carved warrior figurehead, quarter galleries and stern galleries. Appropriately appointed deckworks and plank-on-frame lifeboat. Precisely turned spars and fighting tops. Complex and accurate standing and running rigging with line thicknesses in scale with that found on the real ship. Displayed on a fine walnut base, the planked top with ebony and holly string inlay, 16-point compass rose inlay at the bow and stern, and fan inlay at the corners. Perimeter gallery in carved walnut and turned bone.
Model height 72". Length 96". Width 36". Height on platform approx. 77". Length 101". Width 36". Includes custom floor stand, height on stand is approximately 108".
Condition: The absence of a condition report does not imply an object is free of defects. All items may have normal signs of age and wear commensurate with their age; these issues will likely not be mentioned in the condition report. Please contact Eldred's before the auction with any condition questions. Questions about condition will not be answered after purchase. Condition reports are provided as a courtesy, and we are not responsible for any errors or omissions. Important note on frames: Frames are not guaranteed to be in the same condition as they are in the item photograph. Due to handling and shipping, many frames, especially antique ones, are prone to losses. If you have questions about the condition of a frame, please contact us prior to the auction. 

  • Provenance:
    Stood for over a century above the great entrance door of the hall of the Chateau de Rioux near Bordeaux. It was later part of the famed deCoppet Ship Model Collection, then given to the New Bedford Whaling Museum around 1932, accession number 31.33.1.
    The Property of a Gentleman: The Estate of Peter Goldstein.
  • Exhibited:
    Ship model exhibition at Fort Adams, Newport, Rhode Island, circa 2013.

    Illustrated:
    A detailed drawing and description of this model can be seen in The Story of Ship Design and de Coppet Collection of Ship Models by Edward T. Pierce (New Bedford, Mass.: The Old Dartmouth Historical Society, Sketch no. 61), p. 14. The model's provenance is also discussed.

    Reference:
    Modeles Historiques by Jean Boudriot (Paris: Edite Par A.N.C.R.E., 1997) discusses and illustrates several French dockyard models of the same period as this example.

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February 28, 2024 9:30 AM EST
East Dennis, MA, US

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