Rijkswerf Vlissingen

Half Model of a Paddle Steamer

Flushing, c. 1837 - c. 1841

Inscriptions

  • inscription, top centre, on an oval label:STOOM- / OORLOGSCHIP / de ETNA
  • inscription, bottom right, on a piece of paper, in ink:Voornaamste Afmetingen. / [followed by measurements and scale]
  • label, centre right:477 former inventory label
  • scale, bottom right: brass scale in inches

Conservation

  • Restauratieatelier Scheepsmodellen, 2008: restored

Provenance

...; Ministerie van Marine (Department of the Navy), The Hague, 1841;1HNA 2.12.01 Min. Marine, Exh. 1/6/1841 N43. transferred to the museum, 1883

ObjectNumber: NG-MC-477

Entry

Polychromed and fully planked wooden 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 cupboards in the front and in the rear of the box. Port-lids are fitted in the bulwark fore and aft for the pivot guns and hammock netting are placed along the entire length of the bulwark. The rounded bow features a detailed beakhead, the figurehead is missing. The elliptical stern bears the coat of arms of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. Below the stern a square-headed rudder with a rectangular blade and a large deadwood are indicated. The sheer is almost flat. 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 1841.2HNA 2.12.01 Min. Marine, Exh. 1/6/1841 N43 The 4-gun paddle steamer Etna, 47 metres long, was built by Cornelis Soetermeer (1782-1842) in Flushing from 1837 to 1839.3J.M. Obreen, Catalogus der verzameling modellen van het Departement van Marine, The Hague 1858, no. 477. The engines were furnished by the Nederlandsche Stoomboot Maatschappij Fijenoord in Rotterdam. Used mainly for inland defence purposes, it made a voyage to the Dutch West Indies (1842-44) and to the Dutch East Indies (1847), where it remained and was decommissioned in 1864.4A.J. Vermeulen, De schepen van de Koninklijke Marine en die der gouvernementsmarine 1814-1962, The Hague 1962, p. 45.

Scale (on model) 1:40.

Literature

J.M. Obreen, Catalogus der verzameling modellen van het Departement van Marine, The Hague 1858, no. 477; A.J. Vermeulen, De schepen van de Koninklijke Marine en die der gouvernementsmarine 1814-1962, The Hague 1962, p. 45

Citation

J. van der Vliet, 2016, 'Rijkswerf Vlissingen, Half Model of a Paddle Steamer, Flushing, c. 1837 - c. 1841', in J. van der Vliet and A. Lemmers (eds.), Navy Models in the Rijksmuseum, online coll. cat. Amsterdam: hdl.handle.net/10934/RM0001.COLLECT.244290

(accessed 11 May 2025 08:16:36).

Footnotes

  • 1HNA 2.12.01 Min. Marine, Exh. 1/6/1841 N43.
  • 2HNA 2.12.01 Min. Marine, Exh. 1/6/1841 N43
  • 3J.M. Obreen, Catalogus der verzameling modellen van het Departement van Marine, The Hague 1858, no. 477.
  • 4A.J. Vermeulen, De schepen van de Koninklijke Marine en die der gouvernementsmarine 1814-1962, The Hague 1962, p. 45.