Scale: 1:24. A contemporary full hull model of a 36-42-gun frigate (1820), built plank on frame and mounted on ornately carved ‘dolphin’-style crutches. It is partially rigged with three lower masts and bowsprit, channels complete with deadeyes, and a double wheel is mounted on deck. Although the figurehead is missing, the motto ‘Nemo me impune lacessit’ is that of the Scottish Order of the Thistle and is carved on the trail boards located just aft of the beak head. The stern is complete with an intricately carved taffrail depicting navigational instruments, reclining figures in military dress, the stern of a two-decker warship and a thistle. The decoration on bow and stern would suggest a ship named ‘Thistle’ or one that was definitely Scottish, although no suitable vessel can be found matching this configuration.

At this unusually large scale, the model depicts a ship measuring 138 feet along the gun deck by 39 feet in the beam. The reason for the double figure for the number of guns is that in 1817 the old illogical system of rating was superseded by one in which the actual number of guns carried was given.