Blown Oval Blown Glass Diorama

Blown Oval Blown Glass  Diorama

(artiste et date inconnus)

crédit: http://oneofakindantiques.com     diorama

Late 19th century diorama in blown glass vessel depicting a French prisoner of war, seated on a stool beside a bench,with a bone model of a ship. A pair of manacles hangs on the wall, a ball and chain is clamped to his foot, and a large rat keeps him company.l Made of bone, wood, metal, cloth,leather , straw and pigment. Note, jeweler and watchmakers in Ghent were conscripted by Napoleon to serve in his war with England. They were captured and imprisoned by the British. They passed the time by carving intricately detailed ship models and dioramas out of bones left from their meals or what ever wood they found. This diorama measures 6 inches high.(onefakindantiques.com)

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(artiste et date inconnus)

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Guildhall Museum in Rochester

Guildhall Museum in Rochester

crédit.

The models and toys were made by French prisoners of war, held in hulks and prisons. (Dartmoor prison was originally built for French pows).
Prison uniform was a shirt, trousers and coat, all in saffron yellow with TO stamped in black front and back.
Ordinary prisoners were paid 21/2 p a day, going up to 11 shillings a day for a captain. Higher ranking officers could chose to be put on parole.
The weekly food allowance for each man was 101/2 lbs of bread, 21/2 lbs of meat, 2 lbs of fish + potatoes and other vegtables.
The men were allowed to make articles for sale with the full approval of the goverment. Markets, open to all inside and out, were set up in the prison yard. Objects made by the prisoners would range from simple knick-knacks to ship models up to 5 foot long, quite often a group of men would get together to build a model. Models could be built to commision and there are even accounts of French pows forging banknotes!
Beef bone was the most commonly used material, followed by mutton, veal and whale bone. Baleen, tortoishell,wood, metal, hair and twine were also used, these, as well as paints and handtools were easily available as trade.

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