Sacred vessels: British church ship models

Abstract

What is the significance of ship models hanging in British churches today? What is their function and what can they tell us about maritime culture, trade, and art in the context of the church through the ages?

My doctoral research will examine the purpose and prevailing contemporary interpretation of ship models in Scottish churches and how these have altered from pre-Reformation church practice to the present day. Through a chronological study of the geographical spread of the practice of hanging ship models in churches, and by examining the folklore of the sculpture within a church context, my research explores the societies and individuals that commissioned these unique forms of sculpture and for what purpose, how the public’s interpretation of ship models in churches has developed and how the historical value placed on them has changed in recent years.