Bone ship model

The Napoleonic wars lasted between 1803-1815. During that time, over 100,000 French prisoners were held captive in Britain in gaols, barracks, and on prison ships (“hulks”) moored off the coast in locations including Plymouth, Portsmouth, Chatham and Liverpool. French prisoners of war held in Britain experienced very different circumstances depending on their status. Some of the higher-ranking prisoners were given surprising freedoms and allowed to live within the local communities. Common sailors and soldiers fared much worse – the prisoners at the mercy of disease, overcrowding, malnutrition, and malpractice.

With time on their hands, these prisoners created intricate and beautiful figures, games (such as dominoes), trinkets and models of buildings, ships and even the guillotine! They were carved from bleached bone, sometimes saved from their meat rations, acquired by scavenging, or provided by overseers. The final pieces were often examples of exceptional craftsmanship and sold to the public for as much as £40 each (enough money to live on for a year). Captivity was a business, and in some instances whole workshops were supported to exploit entrepreneurial opportunities and make the most of consumer demand.

This bone ship model was made by a French prisoner of war in Launceston, Cornwall.

Did you know..?

Prisoners who were allowed to roam away from the prison walls were said to be ‘on parole’, meaning they had given their word (‘parole’) not to escape. The communities linked to these prisons became known as ‘parole’ towns’.

Use our Classroom resources to investigate this object, and the themes of the French revolutionary and Napoleonic wars and  The Arts in the Age of Revolution further.

Highlights:

• Using objects, artworks and other sources to find out about the past
• Using museum collections as creative starters
• How to make a revolutionary stop-frame animation

And much more…