Unique SWORD Or DAGGER HANDLE HILT - HMS COLOSSUS 1798 Shipwreck A NELSON SHIP
Item History & Price
| Reference Number: Avaluer:45021179 |
This is a Large BRONZE sword or dagger hilt which is in amazing condition ! It even has part of the original steel blade remains although badly corroded. It was found completel encased in marine encrustation which preseved it from the ravages of the salt water environment .I would guess that this was pretty old when it went onto the ship probably as a 'hand me down' to a naval officer . I feel that it probably dates from about 1700 ? (I stand to be corrected ) I...t was recovered from the famous HMS COLOSSUS which was one of Nelsons Ships and was the one which bought the renowned Hamilton Collection of Etruscan vases and statues back from Naples . This was One of Nelsons Fleet at St. Vincent and the Nile' I will also include a descriptive certificate signed by us , the salvors and photos of the piece linked and referenced to the certificateHMS COLOSSUS SUNK 1798 ISLES OF SCILLY She was a 74 gun, 3rd rate, ship of the line. It isrecorded in the year 1795, after the battle of Ile De Groix, that Colossus was'one of the fastest ships in the fleet' She also served in the inshoresquadron off Cadiz in 1797, rightalongside Nelson in the Theseus. After fighting at the battle of St. Vincent, on 1 August 1798, Britishfortunes in the war against Napoleon were boosted with Nelson's defeat of theFrench fleet during the Battle ofthe Nile at Aboukir Bay. The 74-gun British vessel, theColossus, had been badly damaged a year earlier, so she played no active partin the sea battle, although she was carrying all-important stores for Nelson'sfleet.After the battle, the Colossus's holds were emptied torepair the battered English ships when they limped back into the harbour at Naples.It was then planned to sail the Colossus back to Englandfor long overdue repairs, with some of the spoils of the ongoing war with Franceloaded on board. Also packed in the hold were eight large crates of 'Etruscan'antiquities, which had been collected by Sir William Hamilton, the Britishambassador to Italyand one of England'sfirst archaeologists. Nelson, who was the lover of Hamilton'swife, Emma, had promised the extremely rare and valuable cargo safe passageback to England.Hamilton, who knew of his wife's infidelity, outwardly ignored the scandal. Theuse of the Colossus for the transport of these antiquities was just one aspectof the unusual friendship between these 'tria juncta in uno'. In addition to these treasures, the Colossus was alsocarrying 200 sick and wounded seamen, desperate for a speedy voyage back to England.However, the Colossus was ordered to call at Lisbonand pick up a further cargo of spices and preserved food ? a detour that was toprove catastrophic. Fighting against heavy easterly winds, the Colossuseventually reached the Isles of Scilly at the beginning of December, 1798.Captain Murray anchored in St Mary's Sound to await a change in wind direction.Unfortunately, by the night of 10 December, the wind turned to gale force andbroke the main anchor cable. It was too dark to head for open sea, so Murraycould only wait as his ship dragged her remaining anchors. At 4am, the Colossus ran aground on the Southward Well Reef, just off Samson Island.With no likelihood of imminent rescue by the localpopulation, Captain Murray decided to evacuate the ship ? a highly dangerousoperation, considering the rough seas and poor health of the passengers. Aswater reached the upper gun ports, the evacuation began; the wounded werelashed to the rigging and slowly carried ashore. All but one ? who felloverboard ? survived. By now the Colossus lay on her beam ends, her deck towardsthe beach and her stern to the east. Salvage, both legal and illicit, continuedfor more than a year as the sea slowly destroyed the hull. Modern discoveries and finds For almost two centuries the Colossus was left to the sea, sunk but not forgotten. Then, in 1974, salvors located the bow section of the ship, along with 30, 000 pottery fragmentsfrom Hamilton's collection ofantiquities. These were successfully raised and painstakingly re-assembled fordisplay at the British Museumby a small team of experts. Thousands of fragments remain at the museum, toosmall and unidentifiable to fit together .In the 1980?s the wreck was salvaged by the same team wholifted the stern carving ( see later )Twenty five years later, a line of five 32-pound cannonswere found by Jim Heslin standing vertically, breech upwards from the seabedthrough the intact remains of the gun ports were found almost a kilometre fromthe site discovered earlier. The sandy seabed was strewn with ship's timbers ?representing one third of one side of the ship. Ten metres from the cannon lay a partially uncovered woodenrelief sculpture ? part of the stern decoration of the Colossus.( Stillattached to the stern) The carving is ofa mythological human figure 13 feet or 3.2 metres high covered in fish-scalearmour, holding aloft a wreath of laurels. This is an extremely rare artefact, with only a handful of other examples surviving in museums. This was lifted byMac Mace , Jim Heslin and Terry Hiron and has now been conserved at greatexpence by the Mary Rose Trust . It now stands proudly in the entrance to thefamous Tresco Gardenson the Isles of Scilly and can be seen for free. This wreck is now protected and no more excavations areallowed . It has become the domain of archaeologists and the timber remainswill presumably be gradually destroyed by the sea . Including another possiblecarving on the other side of the stern which is completely buried . Any of thespoils carried from the battle of the Nile will never beseen by the public because this is how English Heritage look after our Heritage. No more artefacts will therefore be lifted from this wreckor consequently come up for sale !!
I have listed the postage costs but if you are prepared to take the risk , I can send economy which will not be recorded . It would be a lot cheaper but it will be your responsibility ??
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Auctiva's FREE CounterOn 01-Oct-20 at 11:06:54 BST, seller added the following information:TO WORM AND SERVE A ROPE – TAKEN FROM THE RIGGERS GUIDE & SEAMANS ASSISTANT Set up your work between two points and heave taught.Worming the rope is to fill up the vacant space between the strands of the rope with spun yarn in order to render the surface smooth and round for parceling.Parceling a rope is wrapping old canvas round it, cut into strips two or three inches wide according to the size of the rope.The parcelling is put on with the lay of the rope.The service is of spun yarn, put or hove on by a wooden mallet; it has a score in the under part according to the size of the rope so as to lay comfortably on the rope.The serving is always laid on against the lay of the rope, a man passes a ball of spun yarn taking the turns well out of it at some distance from the man that is serving the rope; when the required length is put on, the end is passed under the last 6 turns and hauled taught before cutting off.
I have listed the postage costs but if you are prepared to take the risk , I can send economy which will not be recorded . It would be a lot cheaper but it will be your responsibility ??
Track Page Views With
Auctiva's FREE CounterOn 01-Oct-20 at 11:06:54 BST, seller added the following information:TO WORM AND SERVE A ROPE – TAKEN FROM THE RIGGERS GUIDE & SEAMANS ASSISTANT Set up your work between two points and heave taught.Worming the rope is to fill up the vacant space between the strands of the rope with spun yarn in order to render the surface smooth and round for parceling.Parceling a rope is wrapping old canvas round it, cut into strips two or three inches wide according to the size of the rope.The parcelling is put on with the lay of the rope.The service is of spun yarn, put or hove on by a wooden mallet; it has a score in the under part according to the size of the rope so as to lay comfortably on the rope.The serving is always laid on against the lay of the rope, a man passes a ball of spun yarn taking the turns well out of it at some distance from the man that is serving the rope; when the required length is put on, the end is passed under the last 6 turns and hauled taught before cutting off.
