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Model of a Sailboat

Egyptian, Classical, Ancient Near Eastern Art

MEDIUM Wood
  • Place Made: Egypt
  • DATES ca. 2008-1630 B.C.E.
    PERIOD Middle Kingdom
    DIMENSIONS 13 × 9 1/4 × 38 3/16 in. (33 × 23.5 × 97 cm)  (show scale)
    ACCESSION NUMBER 37.1483E
    CREDIT LINE Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund
    CATALOGUE DESCRIPTION Wooden model of a sailboat, possibly a kitchen tender, with traces of paint on the deck. The wooden crotch support for the mast is in place, and the rudder is lying on the deck, but the mast, sails, spars and rudderpost are missing. Twelve wooden human figures are on board, eleven males and one female, with painted details of hair, face and clothing. They are of widely varying sizes, styles and woods, and possibly did not all originally belong to this vessel or were hastily assembled. Also lying on the deck are a small oar and a pole. Seven ceramic platters and bowls, three wooden vessels, three wooden sticks with string wrapped around them, and a linen-wrapped cylindrical object burnt at one end. Towards the stern of the boat are the remains of upright wooden slats with holes in the deck for more; probably part of a cabin, now missing. Condition: Both sides of the hull have a horizontal crack running from the middle of the ship to the stern. There is a crack on the forward deck, and the edge of the bow is chipped off. Traces of a black substance are found on both edges of the deck in the rear half of the boat. Almost all of the figures, vessels and parts of the boot have been glued in place in modern times. Photographs of the objects from the NYHS show all of the figures in different positions than at present. All of the figures are in poor condition. With abraded facial features, missing limbs and cracking paint. Eight figures are missing one or both arms, seven are missing one or both feet, and two are missing their legs.
    MUSEUM LOCATION This item is not on view
    CAPTION Model of a Sailboat, ca. 2008-1630 B.C.E. Wood, 13 × 9 1/4 × 38 3/16 in. (33 × 23.5 × 97 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund, 37.1483E. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 37.1483E_NegA_SL4.jpg)
    IMAGE overall, unedited master file, 37.1483E_NegA_SL4.jpg. Brooklyn Museum photograph
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    RIGHTS STATEMENT Creative Commons-BY
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