Bone Model
Description
- Media Type
- Image
- Description
- A model of a warship made by a French prisoner-of-war during the Napoleonic Wars from bone. Mutton bones from the prisoners’ meals were often used for making models and other items. It has been suggested models were often the work of syndicates whose members collaborated, each prisoner contributing a particular skill to one feature of the model. They were made not only to while away the tedium of captivity but to make money with which food and comforts could be purchased. Different methods were used in the construction of the models. Sometimes the hull was shaped from a single bone, but more often the models were ribbed and planked like real vessels, with tiny nails inserted to hold the frame together. Human hair was often used for the rigging, as well as horsehair and silk. The scale of these models is not always accurate. The decoration of the ships is often excessive, but the result is a delightful work of art. In fact, bone models became so popular that they continued to be made after the end of the Napoleonic Wars in 1815. Models exist of ships which were not launched until 1820 or 1825.
This model was donated by Miss Erie Carter. It had originally belonged to her father DeWitt Carter who bought it second hand and had it restored probably around 1900. - Subject(s)
- Local identifier
- 975.183
- Copyright Statement
- Copyright status unknown. Responsibility for determining the copyright status and any use rests exclusively with the user.
- Recommended Citation
- Image courtesy of the Port Colborne Historical & Marine Museum
- Terms of Use
- Please contact the PORT COLBORNE HISTORICAL AND MARINE MUSEUM for any reproductions of photographs within the website.
- Contact
- Port Colborne Historical and Marine MuseumEmail:archives@portcolborne.ca
Website:
Address:280 King St. Box 572
Port Colborne, ON L3K 5X8
This project was made possible with the support of the 