Looking for information about old model of British Royal Yacht

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oakvander

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Hello. I'm looking for information about an old model of a British Royal Yacht. My partner works for a family who purchased the model when they bought their home. They now want to get rid of it, but they're not sure how old the model is, what it's worth, etc. They would be interested in either donating it to a museum (if anyone wanted it), or selling it. I've attached a couple of pictures.

The base has a plaque on it which says: "Royal Yacht - Built for King Charles of England in Deptford - 17th century". In searching the internet it appears to be nearly identical to this model: https://collections.rmg.co.uk/collections/objects/66339.html

It also appears to be very similar to the model built by forum user Uwek in this thread: https://shipsofscale.com/sosforums/...yal-yacht-1674-woody-joe-1-64-by-chrisp.6574/

I'm particularly interested in knowing whether it was built from a kit or from scratch, rough age of the model, and what to do with it! Any information on the model would be appreciated. Thank you.

ship front (1).jpegship side.jpeg
 
oakvander said:
Hello. I'm looking for information about an old model of a British Royal Yacht. My partner works for a family who purchased the model when they bought their home. They now want to get rid of it, but they're not sure how old the model is, what it's worth, etc. They would be interested in either donating it to a museum (if anyone wanted it), or selling it. I've attached a couple of pictures.

The base has a plaque on it which says: "Royal Yacht - Built for King Charles of England in Deptford - 17th century". In searching the internet it appears to be nearly identical to this model: https://collections.rmg.co.uk/collections/objects/66339.html

It also appears to be very similar to the model built by forum user Uwek in this thread: https://shipsofscale.com/sosforums/...yal-yacht-1674-woody-joe-1-64-by-chrisp.6574/

I'm particularly interested in knowing whether it was built from a kit or from scratch, rough age of the model, and what to do with it! Any information on the model would be appreciated. Thank you.

View attachment 255404View attachment 255405
Click to expand...
A beautiful model. I'm sure more experienced members will reply once they have a chance to research it.
 
It is looking like a beautiful model - maybe important would be a closer photo of the stern decorations and also the figurehead-lion to define closer the ship.
Also to get a better feeling for the modeling quality some photos with more details would be helpful
You wrote:
an old model of a British Royal Yacht.
Is it klnown how old the model is exactly?
and
My partner works for a family who purchased the model when they bought their home.
Did they buy the model new or was it somehow in a museum or exhibition? Maybe directly from a modeler?

The given link you made to the NMM is a very good example - so it would be good to compare the decorations on the stern

f9318_003.jpg f9318_004.jpg

DescriptionScale: 1:32. Navy Board skeleton model of a yacht, possibly royal (circa 1690). The model is decked and rigged with the sails (modern) set. It is flying three flags: union on the jackstaff, royal standard on the mainmast and ensign on the ensign staff. It was re-rigged at the Science Museum in the early 1930s with its original spars. The modern sails and flags (later removed) were added. This model probably depicts an actual vessel which would have been privately owned. It is doubtful whether it depicts a Royal Yacht as they were ketch rigged (two-masted) at this date. At the above scale, the length would be 74 feet by 21 feet in the beam, with a tonnage of 130 burden. The model is an excellent example of late 17th century craftsmanship using the typical hard fruitwoods such as apple and pear, as well as boxwood for both the decking, planking and the carved decoration.
Date madecirca 1690

Royal/ceremonial vessel (1690); Yacht; Royal | Royal Museums Greenwich

collections.rmg.co.uk collections.rmg.co.uk

For me it seems, that "yxour" model is based on the shown contemporary model - they are extremely similar - so let us take a look at the carvings
 
Uwek said:
It is looking like a beautiful model - maybe important would be a closer photo of the stern decorations and also the figurehead-lion to define closer the ship.
Also to get a better feeling for the modeling quality some photos with more details would be helpful
You wrote:
an old model of a British Royal Yacht.
Is it klnown how old the model is exactly?
and
My partner works for a family who purchased the model when they bought their home.
Did they buy the model new or was it somehow in a museum or exhibition? Maybe directly from a modeler?

The given link you made to the NMM is a very good example - so it would be good to compare the decorations on the stern

View attachment 255414 View attachment 255415

DescriptionScale: 1:32. Navy Board skeleton model of a yacht, possibly royal (circa 1690). The model is decked and rigged with the sails (modern) set. It is flying three flags: union on the jackstaff, royal standard on the mainmast and ensign on the ensign staff. It was re-rigged at the Science Museum in the early 1930s with its original spars. The modern sails and flags (later removed) were added. This model probably depicts an actual vessel which would have been privately owned. It is doubtful whether it depicts a Royal Yacht as they were ketch rigged (two-masted) at this date. At the above scale, the length would be 74 feet by 21 feet in the beam, with a tonnage of 130 burden. The model is an excellent example of late 17th century craftsmanship using the typical hard fruitwoods such as apple and pear, as well as boxwood for both the decking, planking and the carved decoration.
Date madecirca 1690

Royal/ceremonial vessel (1690); Yacht; Royal | Royal Museums Greenwich

collections.rmg.co.uk collections.rmg.co.uk

For me it seems, that "yxour" model is based on the shown contemporary model - they are extremely similar - so let us take a look at the carvings
Click to expand...
Thanks for the response. I've attached a picture of the stern. It definitely looks to be a copy of the NMM model. The current owners of the model bought it from the people they bought their house/mansion from. My understanding is that nobody knows the age of the model, nor its provenance. We were hoping you folks might know.

Thanks again for your help.

ship from back.jpeg
 
oakvander said:
Thanks for the response. I've attached a picture of the stern. It definitely looks to be a copy of the NMM model. The current owners of the model bought it from the people they bought their house/mansion from. My understanding is that nobody knows the age of the model, nor its provenance. We were hoping you folks might know.

Thanks again for your help.

View attachment 255421
Click to expand...
From comments about cast details in more recent years there seems to be a recognized problem that crisp detail is not longer given in kits as was decades ago. If the figures were scratch hand carved that is another dating problem related to the provenance. Rich
 
So it is by 99,9% clear, looking at the cravings of the stern, that your model is a well done copy of the model in the museum.
The carvings of your model do not have the same high quality like the contemporary model, but they are looking well done.

f9318_004a.jpg ship from backa.jpeg

Also the other parts of the model are looking very good.
But I have my doubts, that the model is really old and contemporary, but well build by a very good modeler - In moment I am not aware about any planset or plans existing showing the contemporary model, I guess the modeler used for the hull structure drawings of a similar type of ship and for the decoration, rigging etc. photos of the model.
I am not aware of any existence of a kit of this model - so I am also very sure, that it is scratch build.

BTW: Here are the two other images of the museum model

f9318_001.jpg f9318_002.jpg
 
Uwek said:
So it is by 99,9% clear, looking at the cravings of the stern, that your model is a well done copy of the model in the museum.
The carvings of your model do not have the same high quality like the contemporary model, but they are looking well done.

View attachment 255429 View attachment 255430

Also the other parts of the model are looking very good.
But I have my doubts, that the model is really old and contemporary, but well build by a very good modeler - In moment I am not aware about any planset or plans existing showing the contemporary model, I guess the modeler used for the hull structure drawings of a similar type of ship and for the decoration, rigging etc. photos of the model.
I am not aware of any existence of a kit of this model - so I am also very sure, that it is scratch build.

BTW: Here are the two other images of the museum model

View attachment 255431 View attachment 255432
Click to expand...

Thank you. I appreciate everyone's input on this.

The ship is in a home in the San Francisco Bay Area. If anyone knows of a maritime organization who might like to have this model as a donation then please let me know. Thanks.

FYI, I posted this to two other internet forums as well, which have provided valuable insights also: https://modelshipworld.com/topic/29...tish-royal-yacht/?tab=comments#comment-849640 and http://www.shipmodels.info/mws_forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=333530
 
Good to see, that this marijn van gils is confirming my words ....
But definitely it is NOT the Royal Caroline, which is looking completely different and is also of a different period
 
oakvander said:
Hello. I'm looking for information about an old model of a British Royal Yacht. My partner works for a family who purchased the model when they bought their home. They now want to get rid of it, but they're not sure how old the model is, what it's worth, etc. They would be interested in either donating it to a museum (if anyone wanted it), or selling it. I've attached a couple of pictures.

The base has a plaque on it which says: "Royal Yacht - Built for King Charles of England in Deptford - 17th century". In searching the internet it appears to be nearly identical to this model: https://collections.rmg.co.uk/collections/objects/66339.html

It also appears to be very similar to the model built by forum user Uwek in this thread: https://shipsofscale.com/sosforums/...yal-yacht-1674-woody-joe-1-64-by-chrisp.6574/

I'm particularly interested in knowing whether it was built from a kit or from scratch, rough age of the model, and what to do with it! Any information on the model would be appreciated. Thank you.
Click to expand...
Hallo @oakvander
we wish you all the BEST and a HAPPY BIRTHDAY
Birthday-Cake
 
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