Model of a koff

anonymous, 1750

The Department of the Navy not only had scale models made as part of the design process of new ships, it also collected models of existing ship types. This model was bought together with five others at an auction in 1865. The koff was a small cargo vessel that plied the coastal waters of Europe.

  • Artwork typeship model, show model, fully rigged model
  • Object numberNG-MC-1184
  • Dimensionspackaging capsule: height 78 cm x width 87.5 cm x depth 25 cm, model: height 72 cm x length 78.5 cm x width 16.5 cm
  • Physical characteristicswood, brass, iron, rope, textile and paint

anonymous

Model of a Koff

Netherlands, 1750

Inscriptions

  • inscription, on the taffrail:DJONGE MAARIA.

Provenance

…; sale, Louis Meyer (1809-1866, The Hague), The Hague (C. van Doorn en Zoon), 24 April 1865, no. 210 ('Een kof.'), to the Ministerie van Marine (Department of the Navy), The Hague; transferred to the museum, 18831Copy RMA.

Object number: NG-MC-1184

Entry

Polychromed rigged block model of a two-masted ‘koff’.

The model has a single deck with hatches, and a low cabin aft with a poop above it. The bow is flat with a curved stem, the round stern has two portholes. At the stern a straight rudder, a rudder head decorated with a human head with a hat, and a tiller running up to the poop are indicated. The model is fitted with an anchor, a windlass, three casks, a pump and a railing amidships. The sheer rises towards both ends, the model has one wale. The hull is S-bottomed, the underwater body is painted dark blue with a very broad white boot topping. The model has a one-and-a-half rig with sails, including a square topsail, foresail and jib. The mainsail and mizzen are gaff sails.

The model was bought by the Department of the Navy at auction in The Hague (Louis Meijer) on 24 April 1865.2No. 210.

Literature

J.M. Obreen et al., handwritten inventory list for items 944 to 1431, 1884, manuscript in HNA 476 RMA, inv. no. 1089, no. 1184; Catalogus Rijksmuseum Nederlands Scheepvaartmuseum, coll. cat. Amsterdam 1928, p. 18, no. 18; E. Pâris, Souvenirs de Marine, facsimile, 3 vols., Grenoble 1975-76, vol. 1, pl. 44-45

Citation

J. van der Vliet, 2016, 'anonymous, Model of a Koff, Netherlands, 1750', in J. van der Vliet and A. Lemmers (eds.), Navy Models in the Rijksmuseum, online coll. cat. Amsterdam: https://data.rijksmuseum.nl/20054161

(accessed 8 December 2025 12:06:55).

Footnotes

  • 1Copy RMA.
  • 2No. 210.