Model of a Match Barrel with Linstock 1837

Curator: Here we have something of a riddle, perhaps. What appears to be a miniature wooden barrel, dating back to 1837. Editor: A wee little barrel...it evokes some kind of salty sea dog on a long journey with a tot of rum. But tiny. Melancholy too; small, abandoned. Curator: It's technically identified as a "Model of a Match Barrel with Linstock," from Rijkswerf Hellevoetsluis made with metal and wood, the details hinting towards a naval function. Match barrels were used on ships, storing the burning match cords used to ignite cannons. The "linstock" is the tool to hold and direct the burning match. Editor: Oh, I like that! That it is like a precious cargo. The smallness now seems purposeful. Holding a dangerous ember. Do you think the size hints at a child’s imagination perhaps? Or something more work related? Curator: Precisely! It points to its existence as a miniature training device; something to help demonstrate the safe keeping of lit materials onboard ships. This kind of demonstration was crucial. There would have been very rigid guidelines of safety concerning explosives. The numbers "718" affixed on it would probably mark its place in an inventory. It really spotlights how maritime and naval institutions in the 19th century standardized practices and information through such models. Editor: So, the "barrel" isn't for jolly pirates and treasure at all, but is meant to represent some dry old instruction for safety! It's a small world to some degree then…from something about adventure on the seas and freedom…to the regulation of military machinery. That tiny barrel, the tool for ignition...It is something about the way systems swallow dreams whole. It’s bittersweet. Curator: I share the bittersweet aspect; though this example exists not as 'art', or personal creation in the purest sense of the word, it still can hold and reveal stories concerning progress and social history that a larger canvas may never reflect as closely. Editor: True; maybe the dreams are *in* the system after all, locked carefully inside. Little sparks for very big things, safe inside wooden containers.