Existing comment:
St. George of 1701:
Although this is a beautiful model in every respect, what sets it apart from all others is its pristine rigging. Most British dockyard models were finished as hull models only, with no masts or rigging whatsoever. Of the ten percent that were originally rigged, all but a few sustained at least some damage over the centuries. The St. George, on the other hand, has weathered the past 300 years virtually unscathed, making it the finest, most complete example of a fully rigged model from this early period in this or any other collection.
The case in which the St. George is displayed was ordered by the model's original owner, Charles Sergison, in the early 1700s. If you look carefully at the individual panes of glass, you will see that they contain swirls and imperfections -- telltale signs of the handmade process by which they were made. |