A German Silver Nef,
b. neresheimer & sohne, hanau, circa 1900, retailed by bertold muller, chester, 1907,
modeled as a three-masted ship, fully rigged with flying burgees, one sail chased with the Royal Arms of England, the hull chased with faux bois and mounted with sixteen cannons, the two-level deck with an additional four cannons and mounted with twenty-two figures engaged in battle including those climbing rigging, saluting, steering, shooting long rifles and mortally wounded, the bow applied with a twin-tailed mermaid figurehead and the stern with two large lanterns and dolphin form rudder, all raised on a fixed stand decorated with dolphins and flowers and with four wheels centered by female masks with sunburst surrounds, with a detachable wood base, marked on hull with maker's mark and import marks, and with import marks throughout; 176 ozt excluding wood stand.
Height 33 x length 30 1/2 inches. Length of wood stand 36 1/2 inches.
Estimate $ 20,000-40,000
has a fitted shipping crate for transport . repair to bow beam above caryatid and internal straightening rod. another repair to beam where rigging attaches near tip. one small loss to window panes at gallery at stern. small loss to shield held by caryatid. the other side with small loss to rigging at central mast where joins below crows nest. old repair to where galleried rim attached to deck at bow. one wheel a little loose, and one wheel with split to outer edge but stable. some scratches to wood stand, especially to lower edges and where wheels fit in. otherwise good condition