Winter 2016

510 Fishers Road, Bryn Mawr, PA 19010 Tel / Fax: 610.525.1160 Cell: 610.715.1595 Email: dhbantique@aol.com www.dianabittelantiques.com www.antiquesandfine art.com/dbittel DIANA H. BITTEL Three Napoleonic Prisoner-of-War Bone Ship Models A mazingly made by French prisoners of war during the Napoleonic Wars, circa 1803–1815, while imprisoned in British jails. Many of the prisoners were impressed into the Navy and had creative backgrounds, not military ones, and they showed their expertise in these intricate and beautifully accurate and detailed models. They made use of their rations of beef bones and later during their incarceration, they were allowed to trade items they had made at fairs on the prison grounds. This afforded them the opportunity to obtain threads, metal pieces for guns, paints for flags and perhaps better tools for such fine carvings. They were merely political prisoners not criminals so they were treated somewhat better than expected. Even after the Wars were over, many of these talented sailors stayed in England and continued their craft where it was appreciated. Clockwise from upper left British ship with 14 guns (11" x 8") French flagged ship maintaining 96 guns (13" x 11") British ship with 14 guns (7½" x 6½")