Model of the monitor Tijger

R. Napier & Sons (mentioned on object), 1868

The monitor is a product of the American Civil War, named after the first ship of this type. The vessel’s characteristic feature was its low deck on which a large central cannon was installed for a maximum field of fire. The Tijger was built for the Royal Netherlands Navy at the Scottish ship-yard Napier & Sons. Monitors were designed to protect river estuaries and other stretches of inland waterways.

  • Artwork typeship model, presentation model, fully rigged model
  • Object numberNG-MC-1239
  • Dimensionsdisplay case: height 78 cm x width 137 cm x depth 45 cm, model: height 55 cm x length 122 cm x width 30.5 cm
  • Physical characteristicswood, brass, rope and paint

R. Napier & Sons

Model of an Ironclad Monitor

Glasgow, 1868

Inscriptions

  • inscription, on a rectangular brass label:MODEL OF ARMOUR-CLAD TURRET MONITOR "DE TYGER" / SCALE OF 1/4 INCH 1 FOOT / [followed by measurements] / R. NAPIER & SONS. GLASGOW.

Provenance

...; transferred from the Ministerie van Marine (Department of the Navy), The Hague, to the museum, 1883

Object number: NG-MC-1239

Entry

Polychromed block model of an ironclad monitor, in a glass case.

The model has a vertical stem, a sharp cruiser stern with a round-bladed rudder and triple-blade propellers. On the main deck there are two deckhouses of triangular shape aft and two very narrow ones at the front, allowing for a maximum field of fire for the two guns in the single turret. All deckhouses are connected by gangways. On the first deckhouse aft just behind the turret the vessel has one funnel. The railing on the aft deckhouses has hammock netting. The model has four boats in davits. The sheer is completely flat, the hull is flat-bottomed and painted a metallic silver colour below the waterline. The model has a two-masted gaff rig without sails. The foremast has a yard for a lower square sail.

The model was made at R. Napier & Sons of Glasgow in 1868 and presented to the commander of the Buffel. The 57-metre-long, armour-clad monitor Tijger was built by Napier for the Dutch Navy from 1867 to 1868. It was armed with two 23-cm muzzle-loaders, which were replaced in 1886 by one 28-cm muzzle-loader, two 3.7-cm guns and two 3.7-cm revolving guns. It served for inland defence purposes only. Tijger was sold for scrap in 1896.1A.J. Vermeulen, De schepen van de Koninklijke Marine en die der gouvernementsmarine 1814-1962, The Hague 1962, pp. 109-10.

Literature

B.J. Tideman, Memoriaal van de Marine, bevattende opgaven betrekkelijk de afmetingen, constructie, ... van Nederlandsche oorlogsschepen en omtrent enige havens, dokken, sluizen, werven enz., Amsterdam 1876-80, livret H; J.M. Obreen et al., handwritten inventory list for items 944 to 1431, 1884, manuscript in HNA 476 RMA, inv. no. 1089, no. 1239; S. de H., ‘De eerste Nederlandsche pantserschepen’, Ons Zeewezen 30 (1931), pp. 306-17, 344-50, 382-87, 420-26 and Ons Zeewezen 31 (1932), pp. 4-9, 42-48, pp. 420-26; A.J. Vermeulen, De schepen van de Koninklijke Marine en die der gouvernementsmarine 1814-1962, The Hague 1962, pp. 109-10; J.M. Dirkzwager, ‘De introductie van pantserschepen in Nederland’, Tijdschrift voor Zeegeschiedenis 4 (1985), no. 1, pp. 23-41, pp. 35-37

Citation

J. van der Vliet, 2016, 'R. Napier & Sons, Model of an Ironclad Monitor, Glasgow, 1868', in J. van der Vliet and A. Lemmers (eds.), Navy Models in the Rijksmuseum, online coll. cat. Amsterdam: https://data.rijksmuseum.nl/200316112

(accessed 6 December 2025 19:08:08).

Footnotes

  • 1A.J. Vermeulen, De schepen van de Koninklijke Marine en die der gouvernementsmarine 1814-1962, The Hague 1962, pp. 109-10.