The collection of prisoner of war / bone ship models in the International Maritime Museum, Hamburg (IMMH) is a very impressive collection.
It is the largest collection of bone ships displayed in a museum anywhere in the world.
The bone ship model collection of Peter Tamm that has grown over decades is outstanding for its diversity.
It ranges from smaller models such as one 16.5 cm in length to the 144 cm long USS CHESAPEAKE.
The collection is documented in a beautiful book with title Prisoner of War: Bone Ship Models - Treasures from the Age of Napoleonic Wars
written by Manfred Stein
Synopsis:
During 1792-1815, the period of the Coalition Wars and the Napoleonic Wars between France and Europe, prisoners were taken on both sides. The majority of them were confined, sometimes for many years, in England and Scotland. Some of the prisoners built ship models from scraps of wood or mutton and beef bones. Rigging was made of silk or whatever other fine material could be obtained. The prisoners developed an art form and the models were sold to the public through the guards. This trade enabled the prisoner to acquire ivory and special tools to make the models all the more decorative. The remain highly sought after and valuable collectors' items to this day. This book shows the beauty of the models selected as the finest in the Peter Tamm Collection in the International Maritime Museum of Hamburg.
Here the photos I made during my visit
A scene is showing how it could have looked like when prisoners made these models
This is the famous golden ship model of the Santa Maria next to the entrance of the bone ship exhibition area - Completely built from gold and platinum
Now the models
It is the largest collection of bone ships displayed in a museum anywhere in the world.
The bone ship model collection of Peter Tamm that has grown over decades is outstanding for its diversity.
It ranges from smaller models such as one 16.5 cm in length to the 144 cm long USS CHESAPEAKE.
The collection is documented in a beautiful book with title Prisoner of War: Bone Ship Models - Treasures from the Age of Napoleonic Wars
written by Manfred Stein
Synopsis:
During 1792-1815, the period of the Coalition Wars and the Napoleonic Wars between France and Europe, prisoners were taken on both sides. The majority of them were confined, sometimes for many years, in England and Scotland. Some of the prisoners built ship models from scraps of wood or mutton and beef bones. Rigging was made of silk or whatever other fine material could be obtained. The prisoners developed an art form and the models were sold to the public through the guards. This trade enabled the prisoner to acquire ivory and special tools to make the models all the more decorative. The remain highly sought after and valuable collectors' items to this day. This book shows the beauty of the models selected as the finest in the Peter Tamm Collection in the International Maritime Museum of Hamburg.
Here the photos I made during my visit
A scene is showing how it could have looked like when prisoners made these models
This is the famous golden ship model of the Santa Maria next to the entrance of the bone ship exhibition area - Completely built from gold and platinum
Now the models
s many moons ago I found that Sailors would use just about anything to create the ships, sails and rigging Ships were carved from Shivers of wood from the ship, bones, Cask and crate wood. Sails from Paper, sail cloth and even undergarments, Rigging line from separating clothing fibers, plant material and even human and animal hair. My signature Below came into my head after reading such stories. We are Amazing Beings Capable of anything we set our minds to doing.
