Art / Resource: Maritime Dioramas
Thanks a lot to all of you who gave me ideas for my diorama. I love the idea of a harbour scene or a gentleman's club - though the "Molly House" one is tempting and would definitely find Sebastian's approval, I doubt that Old Cudd(l)y would feel very comfortable there - and I'll now make some drafts for your various suggestions. I have to try and keep realistic when it comes to the level of my skills... ;-) Luckily, I found a great local shop which is specialised in model making, and they have all the supplies I'll need. I'll keep you posted!
As I mentioned in my previous post, I've done a lot of research on the subject of dioramas, and I'd like to share it with you. It's more than naval geekery; unlike diaries and letters and paintings, dioramas give us a three-dimensional look at history.
A diorama is a three-dimensional miniature model, sometimes inside a glass case or dome. If we go by that definition, we could say that bottleships are the most popular and best known dioramas.
Sailors often spent their spare time with carving or model making, and of course they drew their inspiration from their environment. Some dioramas show ships, others scenes of daily naval life. Here you can see a wonderful example, dating back to the Napoleonic wars and of British origin, showing French prisoners of war. If you look very closely, you can see that one man in the diorama is working on a ship model - so it’s a model-in-a-model. Amazing detail and exquisite work, but at the same time, also a very touching historical artifact sized 12 x 4.5 x 6 inches.
The diorama above comes from OneOfAKindAntiques.com - to see more dioramas, enter “diorama” in the search box and hit enter. You’ll be shown the dioramas which are currently on sale. To see all items, you’ll have to check the “search archived/sold items” box in the top right corner and hit enter again. It sounds a bit complicated, but it’s not, and trust me, it’s worth it.
Model making was also a way for prisoners of war to pass their time and maybe earn a little money by selling their artworks to the locals. The following diorama is the work of a French Prisoner of War during the Napoleonic Wars. It shows the model of a 76 gun ship of the line and was made in ca. 1800 and measures 15 x 7 1/2 x 14 3/4 inches.
This diorama here is absolutely stunning. Again the work of a French POW, it’s carved from ivory and measures 10 1/4 x 4 x 8 1/4 inches.
If you should ever visit the National Maritime Museum in Greenwich, please make sure that you’ll see the dioramas they have on display. Some of them feature glass paintings which, if a candle is lit behind the case, gives a convincing illusion of movement. They are far more luxurious and glamorous than the models you can see in this post, but it’s probably the work of the ordinary sailors who gives us the most accurate portrayal of daily life.
If you're curious now and would like to see more, here are some links for you:
Maritime dioramas at Clipper Maritime Antiques
Tall Ship Museum in Hamburg / Germany: Slide show of over 50 maritime dioramas
Maritime dioramas at Land and Sea Collection
We also have a great artist here on LJ (thanks for the link, rum_inspector !). I know I've rec'd her before, but grace_poppy 's Aubrey Maturin miniatures are so delightful, one can spend hours looking at them:
Grace Poppy's Miniature Picspam
As I mentioned in my previous post, I've done a lot of research on the subject of dioramas, and I'd like to share it with you. It's more than naval geekery; unlike diaries and letters and paintings, dioramas give us a three-dimensional look at history.
A diorama is a three-dimensional miniature model, sometimes inside a glass case or dome. If we go by that definition, we could say that bottleships are the most popular and best known dioramas.
Sailors often spent their spare time with carving or model making, and of course they drew their inspiration from their environment. Some dioramas show ships, others scenes of daily naval life. Here you can see a wonderful example, dating back to the Napoleonic wars and of British origin, showing French prisoners of war. If you look very closely, you can see that one man in the diorama is working on a ship model - so it’s a model-in-a-model. Amazing detail and exquisite work, but at the same time, also a very touching historical artifact sized 12 x 4.5 x 6 inches.
The diorama above comes from OneOfAKindAntiques.com - to see more dioramas, enter “diorama” in the search box and hit enter. You’ll be shown the dioramas which are currently on sale. To see all items, you’ll have to check the “search archived/sold items” box in the top right corner and hit enter again. It sounds a bit complicated, but it’s not, and trust me, it’s worth it.
Model making was also a way for prisoners of war to pass their time and maybe earn a little money by selling their artworks to the locals. The following diorama is the work of a French Prisoner of War during the Napoleonic Wars. It shows the model of a 76 gun ship of the line and was made in ca. 1800 and measures 15 x 7 1/2 x 14 3/4 inches.
This diorama here is absolutely stunning. Again the work of a French POW, it’s carved from ivory and measures 10 1/4 x 4 x 8 1/4 inches.
If you should ever visit the National Maritime Museum in Greenwich, please make sure that you’ll see the dioramas they have on display. Some of them feature glass paintings which, if a candle is lit behind the case, gives a convincing illusion of movement. They are far more luxurious and glamorous than the models you can see in this post, but it’s probably the work of the ordinary sailors who gives us the most accurate portrayal of daily life.
If you're curious now and would like to see more, here are some links for you:
Maritime dioramas at Clipper Maritime Antiques
Tall Ship Museum in Hamburg / Germany: Slide show of over 50 maritime dioramas
Maritime dioramas at Land and Sea Collection
We also have a great artist here on LJ (thanks for the link, rum_inspector !). I know I've rec'd her before, but grace_poppy 's Aubrey Maturin miniatures are so delightful, one can spend hours looking at them:
Grace Poppy's Miniature Picspam