a fine detailed 3 masted ship in a bottle representing the historical capture of the formidable fortress of san juan de ulua which occured on the 29th of march,1847, during the seige of veracruz in the mexican-american war. the ships carved wooden is hull is painted grey below the waterline and. black above. the ship has carved wooden masts, bowsprit, dolphin spike and yards,spars painted white with black tips. a common practice to enable sailors to clearly see rigging in low light, crucial when climbing aloft in the dark to adjust sails. the ship has cotton thread rigging and is flying a painted paper stars and stripes as ensign, from the stern ensign halyard. the ship is sailing on a painted clay sea past a clay cliff on which is located a carved wooden fortress with two towers, castelations. and four cannons. a paper painted mexican flag. flys from each tower whilst a painted stars and stripes flys from a flag pole within the fortress walls. just to the right of the fortress is positioned a carved wooden lighthouse with a building either side. a painted paper stars and stripes flies from a flag pole on top of the lighthouse. all housed in a clear glass flat sided case bottle that would have once held a spirit of some kind.
length of bottle ... 230mm x 75mm square,
the ship in bottle as folkart is probably, unfairly the greatest cliche of maritime folkart and as such is often overlooked. the amount of skill , artistry and maritime knowledge can not be underestimated in each creation. sculpting ships in bottles became fashionable in the 19th century ,helped by the introduction of mass produced clear glass bottles, an explosion in maritime trade and the desire to bring home a token , souvenir of travel on the high seas. the genuine sailor art form continued into the early 20th century when finally it fell out of fashion with mariners. an original sailor made ship in bottle served as a poignant reminder of the magnificence of both – the vessels and the maritime domain. the ship in bottle was often given as a token of love or endearment. it would have held pride of place in a loved ones home. ships in bottles in their heyday were solely the creations of sailors. to own a ship in a bottle would portray to the onlooker that the custodian was associated with an adventurer, a world explorer who would ride the tempest and all that neptune and his sirens could conjure, to get safely back to his love. it would also serve as a message in a bottle to any of the artists maritime peers that when it came to the sea and who ever may sail , that he really knew what he was talking about.
