A Model of the Royal Yacht Henrietta about 1679: Description and identification

摘要

This paper presents a model of a royal yacht in the Portland Collection whose existence has, despite having been included in a published nineteenth-century catalogue, remained unrecognized for over 300 years. It is the first Navy Board style yacht model to come into the public domain for nearly a century. It is the first yacht model, and one of very few seventeenthcentury ship models, which can be identified and connected to a real vessel. It is identified as the Henrietta, a royal yacht built for King Charles II and launched in December 1679. This article explores the evidence that allows this attribution to be made and describes many of the significant features of this beautiful example of the modeller's art. It concludes that the hull of the model is contemporary to the Stuart period but the masts and other features are later additions.