Rijksmuseum

Object data

wood, brass, rope and paint

height 39.5 cm × width 99 cm × depth 49 cm

Inscriptions

label, port side: 29 former inventory label

Conservation

P. Borst, 1976: restored
Ab Hoving, November 2009: missing parts reconstructed

Provenance

...; collection Jochem Pietersz Asmus (1765-1837), Amsterdam, 1807;¹ Ministerie van Marine (Department of the Navy), The Hague, 1837;² transferred to the museum, 1883

Object number: NG-MC-29

Copyright: Public domain

Entry

Polychromed wooden block model of an icebreaker.

The model consists of a long pram with two wing-shaped side platforms at the rear on which capstans are placed, and a large frame balancing in a stool with an axle on the foredeck. The part of the frame overhanging the bow is weighted with a heavy wooden structure that resembles an overturned roof; a large number of axe heads have been mounted on its beams. The rear of the frame hangs above the aft deck; it can be pulled down by tugging a number of the ropes. By releasing the ropes the front section will fall and break the ice with the axe heads. This can also be done with capstans, but these were mainly used for propulsion. Alternatively the craft was towed by horses or manpower: a mast used for towing is then placed against the bulkhead of the forecastle, with a traveller running to the top. The craft has a rudder at the stern.

Jochem Pietersz Asmus (1755-1837) mentions a model of an icebreaker in his private collection in 1807.³ The Amsterdam Museum has an identical model in its collection.⁴

Literature

J.M. Obreen, Catalogus der verzameling modellen van het Departement van Marine, The Hague 1858, no. 29; G. Doorman, Het Nederlandsch octrooiwezen en de techniek der 19de eeuw, The Hague 1947, pp. 205-06, no. 780; R.M. Haubourdin et al., De physique existentie dezes lands. Jan Blanken, inspecteur-generaal van de waterstaat (1755-1838), exh. cat. Amsterdam (Rijksmuseum) 1987, no. 154

Citation

J. van der Vliet, 2016, 'anonymous, Model of an Icebreaker, Netherlands, c. 1750 - c. 1807', in J. van der Vliet and A. Lemmers (eds.), Navy Models in the Rijksmuseum, online coll. cat. Amsterdam: hdl.handle.net/10934/RM0001.COLLECT.242754

(accessed 26 November 2024 23:32:29).