Half Model of a 22-Gun Sloop of War before 1820

This is an anonymous half model of a 22-Gun Sloop of War, crafted from wood. Ship models like this one, were important design tools in the 18th and 19th centuries. In this period of maritime expansion, ships were not just vessels; they were floating embodiments of power, trade, and colonial ambitions. We must remember that these ships were also sites of labor, conflict, and often, brutal exploitation. The labor that built, sailed, and maintained these ships was complex: the labor of enslaved people, indentured servants, and paid sailors, each with their own stories. The sleek lines of the model remind us that the sea has long been a site of both promise and peril. As you look at this object, think about the countless, often nameless, individuals whose lives were intertwined with these vessels, and whose stories are part of our shared maritime history.