Prisoner of War - Bone Ship Models: Treasures from the Age of the Napoleonic Wars

During 1792-1815, the period of the Coalition Wars and the Napoleonic Wars between France and Europe, prisoners were taken on both sides. The majority of them were confined, sometimes for many years, in England and Scotland. Some of the prisoners built ship models from scraps of wood or mutton and beef bones. Rigging was made of silk or whatever other fine material could be obtained. The prisoners developed an art form and the models were sold to the public through the guards. This trade en...