British Sailor's Silkwork of H.M.S. Algiers

Sailor's Silkwork of H.M.S. Algiers.

Circa 1865.

The British sailor's silkwork depicts a starboard view of HMS Algiers which is named below.  The ship is under full sail and flies the Red Ensign under a stormy sky with bands of blue and clouds with a dark blue sea below as it sails close to the rocky entrance to a port.  A lighthouse and Union Jack on a flagpole are visible at the end of s causeway to the right.

High above the ship is the Eye of Providence (as seen on the back of the one-dollar bill) signifying divine providence, i.e., the eye of God watching over the ship.  This is most unusual.  The silk is within a Chinese Chippendale-style frame.

Dimensions: 22 1/2 inches high x 27 1/2 inches wide

Reference:
Wikipedia
HMS Algiers was a 91-gun second rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy.

She was initially ordered from Pembroke Dockyard on 3 October 1833 as a 110-gun first rate to a design by Sir William Symonds. On 10 December 1834, the order for Algiers was changed to a 74-gun two decker, but this was changed once more to a 110-gun ship on 5 February 1839. The order was amended once more, to complete her as a 90-gun Albion-class ship of the line on 26 December 1840, and she was laid down at Plymouth Dockyard on 10 July 1843. Her designs were amended once more, and she was re-ordered on 25 April 1847 to a lengthened design. The Admiralty ordered that she be fitted with screw propulsion while under construction in 1852.

In May 1855, she took part in the capture of Kerch and Yenikale during the Crimean War. Afterwards, she saw service in Malta and was later a depot ship for the gunboat flotilla at Portsmouth. She was present at the 1856 Fleet Review at Spithead.

See:  Winfield, R.; Lyon, D. (2004). The Sail and Steam Navy List: All the Ships of the Royal Navy 1815–1889. London: Chatham Publishing. ISBN 978-1-86176-032-6. OCLC 52620555.

(Ref: VM98528-mrrr)

Dimensions

This object is eligible for a Certificate of BADA Provenance

Stock number