German Battleship Tirpitz In An Osram Sodium Lamp

Price: NZ$516.58

Code: UNQ 00250

This absolutely amazing unique battleship in an early post WW2 industrial sodium light bulb came to me from Bremen Germany, close to where the Tirpitz the sister ship of the Bismarck, was built in Wilhelmshaven. This is not a scale model and was hand crafted in wood and built in the bulb just like the traditional style of putting ships in bottles. It is a finely made piece of folk art including an amazing amount of fine detail to a stand off scale. All the details of this magnificent ship have been included down to its anti aircraft guns and a propeller on its sea plane! The deck has been lined and many colours have been hand applied on this piece. Whoever made this must have had a personal link to the ship itself to be so meticulous in its construction, unfortunately I was unable to find out more about it. I have undertaken a major restoration on this as it was broken and loose in its bulb when I purchased it, after it arrived from Germany. The Osram lamp is quite old itself, Osram developed a new glass for sodium lamps in 1931 but I would say this is post WW2. This type of industrial lamp allows plenty of room to house this amazing large ship. The whole thing is on a wood stand and the total overall measurement is 16 1/2” 420mm long and 4 1/4” 110mm tall.

A lovely piece set to grace any study, library, office or holiday retreat.

For the interesting comprehensive history of the Tirpitz look here.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/German_battleship_Tirpitz

The technique of putting ships into bottles developed during the early years of the 19th century in the forecastles of the old sailing ships; in an era when sea voyages lasted months and years, and entertainment was self-evolved, with whatever materials were at hand. The skill has continued to be popular particularly with sailors or people involved with seafaring. These wonderful bottles are time capsules for someone’s memories, sealed away and protected by the surrounding bottle. Boathouse Collectables only deal in unique bottles which we restore and sell through our electronic shop. We also complete private commissions for new works. If you’re interested please contact us.