Half Model of a Paddle Steamer

Rijkswerf Vlissingen, c. 1837

Gepolychromeerd en geheel beplankt mallenmodel (stuurboord) van een driemast raderstoomschip. Op de scheg een schegbeeld de drie koppen van de hellehond Cerberus voorstellend. Bij het voor- en achterdek valpoorten voor geschut op draaislede. Elliptisch hek, hekkebord met Rijkswapen; roer met ronde roerkoning (Soetermeer's versie). Raderkast in de zijde, ondersteund door vier messing steunen, en met een roosterdek ervoor en erachter; zowel voor als achter drie deuren in de raderkast. Volledig vlakke zeeg, een barkhout. Rondspant. Schaal 1:40 (schaal op model).

  • Artwork typeship model, builder's model, half model
  • Object numberNG-MC-476
  • Dimensionsheight 28 cm x width 142.5 cm x depth 18.5 cm
  • Physical characteristicswood, brass and paint

Rijkswerf Vlissingen

Half Model of a Paddle Steamer

Flushing, c. 1837

Inscriptions

  • inscription, top centre, on an oval blue label:STOOM- / OORLOGSCHIP / CERBERUS
  • inscription, bottom right, on a piece of paper, in ink:Voornaamste Afmetingen. / [followed by measurements and armament]
  • label, centre right:476 former inventory label
  • scale, bottom right: brass scale in inches

Conservation

  • Restauratieatelier Scheepsmodellen, 2005: restored

Provenance

…; Ministerie van Marine (Department of the Navy), The Hague, 1837;1HNA 2.12.01 Min. Marine, Exh. 17/4/1837 N50. transferred to the museum, 1883

Object number: NG-MC-476

Entry

Polychromed, wooden, fully planked half bracket model of the starboard side of a three-masted paddle steamer, mounted on a rectangular wooden backboard, painted white.

The side of the ship that is painted black is planked and features a paddle box. The paddle box is supported by four brass trusses with gratings fore and aft and three doors in the front and in the rear of the box. Port-lids are fitted in the bulwark fore and aft for the pivot guns. The rounded bow features a detailed beakhead with a red-painted figure representing the three heads of the mythological hellhound Cerberus. The elliptical stern bears the coat of arms of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. Below the stern is a round-headed rudder of the Soetermeer type. The sheer is completely flat and indicated by a red line. One wale is indicated. The hull is round and painted a metallic copper colour below the waterline. The position of three masts and the bowsprit are shown in a truncated form.

The model was sent from Flushing to The Hague in 1837.2HNA 2.12.01 Min. Marine, Exh. 7/4/1837 N26, N27, 17/4/1837 N50, 1/5/1837 N23, 18/2/1838 N15. The 3-gun paddle steamer Cerberus, length 45.2 metres, was built by Cornelis Soetermeer (1782-1842) in Flushing from 1834 to 1836.3J.M. Obreen, Catalogus der verzameling modellen van het Departement van Marine, The Hague 1858, no. 476. The engines were the former engines of Suriname (1827). It was first used as a tugboat in Hellevoetsluis and Flushing, then as convoy for the herring fleet and was finally converted to a coaling hulk in 1857.4A.J. Vermeulen, De schepen van de Koninklijke Marine en die der gouvernementsmarine 1814-1962, The Hague 1962, p. 44.

Scale (on model) 1:40.

Literature

J.M. Obreen, Catalogus der verzameling modellen van het Departement van Marine, The Hague 1858, no. 476; A.J. Vermeulen, De schepen van de Koninklijke Marine en die der gouvernementsmarine 1814-1962, The Hague 1962, p. 44

Citation

J. van der Vliet, 2016, 'Rijkswerf Vlissingen, Half Model of a Paddle Steamer, Flushing, c. 1837', in J. van der Vliet and A. Lemmers (eds.), Navy Models in the Rijksmuseum, online coll. cat. Amsterdam: https://data.rijksmuseum.nl/200315789

(accessed 16 December 2025 22:22:25).

Footnotes

  • 1HNA 2.12.01 Min. Marine, Exh. 17/4/1837 N50.
  • 2HNA 2.12.01 Min. Marine, Exh. 7/4/1837 N26, N27, 17/4/1837 N50, 1/5/1837 N23, 18/2/1838 N15.
  • 3J.M. Obreen, Catalogus der verzameling modellen van het Departement van Marine, The Hague 1858, no. 476.
  • 4A.J. Vermeulen, De schepen van de Koninklijke Marine en die der gouvernementsmarine 1814-1962, The Hague 1962, p. 44.