A Maritime Club House cased planked and framed ship model, signed A. Kausen 1934
A Maritime Club House cased planked and framed ship model, signed A. Kausen 1934
An exceptional early 20th century Maritime Club House model of an unriggered four-masted vessel, finely planked and framed and displayed within its original glazed mahogany case. The model features four cut-away masts with bowsprit, brass anchor with cable, catheads, deck rails, fairleads, bitts, capstan, deck lights, companionways and hatch covers. The deck rails are wood-capped with bone balustrades and bone belaying pins, and the detailed deck house is complete with fire buckets above.
Four finely carved lifeboats are present, including one slung out on davits. The hull is detailed with boarding companionways and a shaped rudder, and the model is raised on two columns with cradle supports over its display board. The forward deck house is internally signed and dated “A. Kausen 1934.”
Research accompanying the model suggests it represents one of the rare large wooden four-masted vessels with round sterns built in Nova Scotia. The largest of these was the four-masted barque Kings County, built by E. Cox at Kingsport, Nova Scotia in 1890, later stranded off Montevideo in 1919.
“A. Kausen” is most likely the individual maker who constructed and signed the model in 1934, rather than a documented professional model-maker recorded in the trade. This is not unusual in the field of high-quality ship models; many accomplished examples were produced by skilled amateurs or semi-professional craftsmen (often engineers, shipyard workers, naval personnel, or members of maritime clubs) whose work was never formally published or entered into commercial maker registries.
Provenance: Christie’s South Kensington, Lot 239, June 2004; Private Collection, Conwy
Condition: very good antique condition. The model displays fine craftsmanship with light, age-appropriate wear. The glass case shows some surface marks and light clouding consistent with age. Structurally sound and attractively presented.
Dimensions: 98cm wide, 28cm deep, 30cm high (model itself is 89cm long)
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REFERENCE: L2561