Model of a 18-pounder cannon on a gun carriage

anonymous, 1800

The heavy artillery on naval ships consisted of cannon mounted on gun carriages. The calibre – or fire power – of naval cannon was expressed in pounds, according to the weight of the projectiles. The set on this plank represents guns of decreasing calibre, ranging from 36 pounds (far left), 30, 24 and 18 pounds to 12 pounds.

  • Artwork typedemonstration model
  • Object numberNG-MC-774
  • Dimensionsheight 26.3 cm x width 43 cm x depth 22.3 cm x weight 12.2 kg
  • Physical characteristicswood, brass and bronze

anonymous

Model of an 18-Pounder Gun on a Carriage

? Rotterdam, 1800

Inscriptions

  • inscription, on the barrel:18 lbDR MODEL / EEN SESDE GEDEELTE / VAN DE WAARE GROOTE
  • monogram, on the barrel:Am 1800 M
  • inscription, on the carriage:M 18 P / 32.

Provenance

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

Object number: NG-MC-774


Entry

Model of a 18-pounder gun on a carriage.

The barrel is 47.3 cm long and has a 22.5 mm calibre, a breech ring, the button is flat at the back. Written inscriptions are engraved on the barrel, along with two crossed anchors and two palm branches. The carriage is trapezoidal in plan, the cheeks have four steps and a curved cutaway below and are held together by the transom, the stool bed and a cross-beam supporting the stool bed. The elevation plateau, resting forward with hooks on a bolt going straight through both cheeks and to the rear on the stool bed, is missing, as are the movable outer part of the breast piece and the quoin. The axletrees are attached to the cheeks with removable braces. The model has double wooden trucks; the fore trucks are larger than the hind trucks.

The barrel is one of a series with the same type of inscription. The monogram on the barrel refers to the Admiralty of Rotterdam (Maze), which, however, no longer existed in 1800.

Scale (on model) 1:6.


Literature

J.M. Obreen, Catalogus der verzameling modellen van het Departement van Marine, The Hague 1858, no. 774


Citation

J. van der Vliet, 2016, 'anonymous, Model of an 18-Pounder Gun on a Carriage, Rotterdam, 1800', in J. van der Vliet and A. Lemmers (eds.), Navy Models in the Rijksmuseum, online coll. cat. Amsterdam: https://data.rijksmuseum.nl/200315902

(accessed 8 December 2025 21:29:24).