1817 Ship in Bottle Russian Corvette war ship. Museum Quality

Description

What we have here is one of the oldest “Ship in a Bottle” I have ever seen. I’m sure they are out there, but you're not going to see one come up for sale. I acquired this beautiful piece of early 1800’s history a few years ago. Researching it has become a labor of love and I am now ready to shared my findings and observations. Every ship has a story, but most SIB’s are no more than a toy to display. Often very disproportionate to a real ship. If that is what you are looking for, this honest collectors item is not for you. You are looking at a Collector’s piece and like they say, if you can’t run with the big dogs, stay on the porch and play with the puppies.
We have a name “Быстрый” and a year “1817”, we even have it translated for us “Bistry 1817” on the home made stand. With that information in hand it didn’t get me too far with google. Eventually I found that the name translated into english meant “FAST”. With this information I found a Russian ship named
Bistriy, still spelled the same
(“Быстрый") was lost in the naval battle of Tsushima, between Russia and Japan in 1905. Well I heard the Russians often fought in old ships but that was remarkably unbelievable. Yet it was all I had.
Well that was until recently when I found a book available online in google books called “Russian Warships in the age of Sail 1696-1860 by Eduard Sozaev” But now it is spelled “Bystryi and still(Быстрый)”, translation is never perfect and few could even read back then but the Russian spelling still stood, I found her.
Bystryi 44 guns Built Arkhangel‘sk
Constructor A. M. Kurochkin
Laid down 1605 Launched 107
Demensions 159 ft 2 3/4 in x 41‘ ft 6 in x 12 ft 8 in
Armament
LD 28 x 24pdrs (short)
FC & QD 16 x 6pdrs
Speshnyi class group 1. Fifth-Rate
Sailed from Arkhangel‘sk to Kronshtadt in 1807.
Sailed to Sveaborg as a guardship in 1808.
While cruising to Gottland in 1809. she was attacked by HMS(Her Majesty Ships) “Implacable” and “Melpona” and forced to run and retreat to Kronshtadt, (remember her name translates to “Fast”.)
note:
HMS
Implacable
was a 74-gun
third-rate
ship of the line
Fire watch ship in Kronshtadt Roads in 1810-11.
Carried troops to Revel’ in 1812 and then deployed to England with Admiral Thate‘s squadron. Returned to Kronshtadt in 1813.
Cruised in the Baltic in 1814.
Fire watch ship in Kronshtadt Roads in 1820-1825.
Broken up in 1827’
This obscured little known to history corvette was never drawn or painted. With a short life of only 2 decade, someone close to her had enough time skill and love to make this SIB.
So let's talk just a little about the item for sale. First, we see the bottle. I have done my due diligence and remain very confident we have a whiskey flask. No markings likely indicating a bottom shelf or possibly home brewed. Look closely at the neck and mouth. You will see a slight tilt to the left(upright) caused by the hand formed work. Also in that image you can see the tiny air bubbles on the shoulders.
Larger air bubbles are visible through out the other images. The flask originally clear, we know the green tint comes from the age within the iron content. The rim, and pontil foot are also in the time frame. The bottle to a real collector is alone a treasured find by itself and worth a lot. The Corvette made completely by the hand, and possibly by one of her shipmates after finishing the bottle of whiskey on a long and un-eventful passage from actual scraps of wood and rope spreadings from the Bystryi, fills the entire inside of the bottle from bow to stern, from top to bottom there is no empty space. A real work of art from a skill long gone. This was not made to be sold at a store. More than likely it was given to the sailors son. Seriously there is no commercial history to this item. The ship is not glued(as most modern SIB’s are) to the flask, but can not move but a few millimeters due to the size/space ratio.
I know it sounds cliché but, once sold, you will never find another one come up for sale.
Ok, now for the bad news. While this is in extremely great condition for being over 2 centuries old(203 years), the headstay and two shrouds(total of 3) have become disconnected from the deck. I feel this is a real time treasure and would not attempt a botched up repair. I feel this should be done by a professional and would want you to be assured of the quality of work. Additionally, as you can see in one of the photos at some time someone bored a hold into the cork. This too should be sealed. Again I didn’t think I should do this. as the first repair should obviously be done prior. Aside from these two issues it is beautiful history art and needs a proper home for the next hundred or two hundred years.
A real museum piece.
Good luck, when it goes, it's gone for good.
___________________________________
Fun facts:
As described in
History of Ships in Bottles – by Bob de Jongste
:
The oldest surviving ship in a bottle dates to 1784 and is a Turkish or a Portuguese three-masted warship. It is put in an egg­-shaped bottle, which is placed upside down over a wooden stand. It is now part of the collection of the ‘Museum fiir Kunst und Kulturgeschichte der Hansestadt Lubeck’ in Germany.
The oldest SIB in the Netherlands is dated 1795. It is a so-called POON-ship, a one-masted freighter with lee-boards, ranging from 16 to 60 tons. It was also used for regular passenger service. This SIB can be found in the Maritime Museum at Rotterdam.
The SIB became very popular after the fast sailing ships like the clipper were put into service. Consequently most of the antique SIB’s which can be found (very scarce) are dated later than 1840.
We are not experts on age and can only describe the items to the best of our ability. Our descriptions are solely there to assist buyers finding the items and not a professional description. Ultimately the pictures we take serve as our description.
This fine antique is offered with a fair and reasonable fixed price, I trust my descriptions and photos detailing this item to justify the asking price. If you do need information I have neglected to include, make an offer, or additional photos, please don't hesitate to ask, I will do my best to comply.
Free shipping is included in the buy it now price for Domestic Shipping, if a best offer is accepted it is possible we will add shipping to that price. If you desire to have your purchases insured, I am happy to do so if you request it. If you do not instruct me to insure for you, my responsibility will end when the USPS, UPS or Fedex delivers to your address.
Good Luck,
Bettergetitnow