27th Oct, 2010 12:00
Maritime and Scientific Models, Instruments & Art (Audacious)
315
[M] A RARE DOCKYARD MODEL FOR THE TRANSITIONAL...
A RARE DOCKYARD MODEL FOR THE TRANSITIONAL CORVETTE OPAL BUILT FOR THE ROYAL NAVY BY DOXFORD & SONS, SUNDERLAND, 1875
the carved and painted laminated hull with lifting propeller mechanism, carved figurehead with boy and stern foliate decoration, lined and lacquered decks with carved and painted wooden fittings including deck lights, ventilators, capstan, shot racks, retractable funnels with safety valve extension pipe, stayed anchors and davits and square rigged masts with standing and running rigging and other details, mounted on original raised display plinth with builder's plates within glazed wooden case (model repainted and restored overall, later case), overall cased measurements -- 35 x 59 x 18in. (89 x 150 x 46cm.); together with associated table
(2)
Designed by Nathaniel Barnaby and launched in 1875, Opal was one of six 'Emerald Class' composite screw corvettes (her sisters being Emerald; Garnet; Ruby; Tourmaline and Turquoise) ordered by the Royal Navy as a hasty response to update the fleet with more steel-hulled auxiliary vessels. Displacing 2120 tons and measuring 220ft with a 40ft beam and a draft of 18ft, they had a crew of 230 and were initially armed with a conventional row of 12 64-pdr guns. As was usual, various yards built the class, and Opal was built by Doxfords. Unusually, in a bid to save cash, the Admiralty placed the order for engines with other engineers, and thus Opal was fitted with engines provided by Robert Napier developing 2100 horsepower to give a little over 12kts. Whilst Opal's engines were apparently unaffected, the compromised engineering produced for the other ships made them notoriously unreliable to the extent that the engineer of the Tourmaline had a nervous breakdown and committed suicide. Opal was sold for breaking in 1892.
the carved and painted laminated hull with lifting propeller mechanism, carved figurehead with boy and stern foliate decoration, lined and lacquered decks with carved and painted wooden fittings including deck lights, ventilators, capstan, shot racks, retractable funnels with safety valve extension pipe, stayed anchors and davits and square rigged masts with standing and running rigging and other details, mounted on original raised display plinth with builder's plates within glazed wooden case (model repainted and restored overall, later case), overall cased measurements -- 35 x 59 x 18in. (89 x 150 x 46cm.); together with associated table
(2)
Designed by Nathaniel Barnaby and launched in 1875, Opal was one of six 'Emerald Class' composite screw corvettes (her sisters being Emerald; Garnet; Ruby; Tourmaline and Turquoise) ordered by the Royal Navy as a hasty response to update the fleet with more steel-hulled auxiliary vessels. Displacing 2120 tons and measuring 220ft with a 40ft beam and a draft of 18ft, they had a crew of 230 and were initially armed with a conventional row of 12 64-pdr guns. As was usual, various yards built the class, and Opal was built by Doxfords. Unusually, in a bid to save cash, the Admiralty placed the order for engines with other engineers, and thus Opal was fitted with engines provided by Robert Napier developing 2100 horsepower to give a little over 12kts. Whilst Opal's engines were apparently unaffected, the compromised engineering produced for the other ships made them notoriously unreliable to the extent that the engineer of the Tourmaline had a nervous breakdown and committed suicide. Opal was sold for breaking in 1892.
Sold for £16,740
Estimated at £8,000 - £12,000
(inc. buyer's premium of 24%)
A RARE DOCKYARD MODEL FOR THE TRANSITIONAL CORVETTE OPAL BUILT FOR THE ROYAL NAVY BY DOXFORD & SONS, SUNDERLAND, 1875
the carved and painted laminated hull with lifting propeller mechanism, carved figurehead with boy and stern foliate decoration, lined and lacquered decks with carved and painted wooden fittings including deck lights, ventilators, capstan, shot racks, retractable funnels with safety valve extension pipe, stayed anchors and davits and square rigged masts with standing and running rigging and other details, mounted on original raised display plinth with builder's plates within glazed wooden case (model repainted and restored overall, later case), overall cased measurements -- 35 x 59 x 18in. (89 x 150 x 46cm.); together with associated table
(2)
Designed by Nathaniel Barnaby and launched in 1875, Opal was one of six 'Emerald Class' composite screw corvettes (her sisters being Emerald; Garnet; Ruby; Tourmaline and Turquoise) ordered by the Royal Navy as a hasty response to update the fleet with more steel-hulled auxiliary vessels. Displacing 2120 tons and measuring 220ft with a 40ft beam and a draft of 18ft, they had a crew of 230 and were initially armed with a conventional row of 12 64-pdr guns. As was usual, various yards built the class, and Opal was built by Doxfords. Unusually, in a bid to save cash, the Admiralty placed the order for engines with other engineers, and thus Opal was fitted with engines provided by Robert Napier developing 2100 horsepower to give a little over 12kts. Whilst Opal's engines were apparently unaffected, the compromised engineering produced for the other ships made them notoriously unreliable to the extent that the engineer of the Tourmaline had a nervous breakdown and committed suicide. Opal was sold for breaking in 1892.
the carved and painted laminated hull with lifting propeller mechanism, carved figurehead with boy and stern foliate decoration, lined and lacquered decks with carved and painted wooden fittings including deck lights, ventilators, capstan, shot racks, retractable funnels with safety valve extension pipe, stayed anchors and davits and square rigged masts with standing and running rigging and other details, mounted on original raised display plinth with builder's plates within glazed wooden case (model repainted and restored overall, later case), overall cased measurements -- 35 x 59 x 18in. (89 x 150 x 46cm.); together with associated table
(2)
Designed by Nathaniel Barnaby and launched in 1875, Opal was one of six 'Emerald Class' composite screw corvettes (her sisters being Emerald; Garnet; Ruby; Tourmaline and Turquoise) ordered by the Royal Navy as a hasty response to update the fleet with more steel-hulled auxiliary vessels. Displacing 2120 tons and measuring 220ft with a 40ft beam and a draft of 18ft, they had a crew of 230 and were initially armed with a conventional row of 12 64-pdr guns. As was usual, various yards built the class, and Opal was built by Doxfords. Unusually, in a bid to save cash, the Admiralty placed the order for engines with other engineers, and thus Opal was fitted with engines provided by Robert Napier developing 2100 horsepower to give a little over 12kts. Whilst Opal's engines were apparently unaffected, the compromised engineering produced for the other ships made them notoriously unreliable to the extent that the engineer of the Tourmaline had a nervous breakdown and committed suicide. Opal was sold for breaking in 1892.
Auction: Maritime and Scientific Models, Instruments & Art (Audacious), 27th Oct, 2010
