This is a quite outstanding and very rare carved ivory model of the Recreation Hall, Talbots Inch, Garden Village, Kilkenny, Ireland. The property of Ellen Dowager Countess of Desart. The house designed and built by F W Kiddie and this ivory model by his father, A W Kiddie. (c. 1910 United Kingdom)

0106002d/0206

Ivory

11.50 inch wide   7.00 inch high

29.21 cm wide  17.78 cm high

A W Kiddie was a famous ship model maker during the second half of the 19th century who had led an extraordinary life. He was born in Dundee in 1844 and at the age of three was taken to Madrid by his parents where his father opened a flax mill. However, when the young man was only thirteen years old, there was a series of religious disturbances in Spain and the family fled the country. A W Kiddie joined a sailing ship and spent the next three years at sea. In those days, service on a sailing ship was nothing short of hardship and he was regularly beaten and flogged by the men he worked for. When the ship reached Sunderland and despite speaking no English and with no money, he ran away to find his father who by then was living in Widnes, Cheshire. He then served an apprenticeship with him in engineering. No doubt this early training sharpened his eye for detail and trained his nimble fingers to be even more adept with small objects, it was probably about this time that he developed his flair for building model ships that was to make him famous in later life. In 1866, at the age of 22, A W Kiddie went to Southport and immediately made a name by installing in his works the first steam power engine to run in Southport. His interest in ships increased and he became a designer and builder of model sailing yachts. Before long he secured first place in England for the design and workmanship at the Model Yacht Club in Kensington, London. In 1880, Sir George Pilkington commissioned A W Kiddie to build a four foot scale model of the yacht "Jullanar" and when it was completed it was considered by connoisseurs to be the finest model in craftsmanship of its day. The following year the model was placed in the South Kensington Museum where it can be seen today. In 1910 another interesting commission came his way when Lieutenant Commander Garside Tipping, R.N Inspector of Lifeboats for the Irish and West Lancashire coasts asked Mr. Kiddie to make a perfect scale model of the Southport lifeboat. In his later years, A W Kiddie spent his time in the construction of scale ivory models, many to the order of Sir George Pilkington. Among the most famous of these were the "Victory", the "Cutty Sark", and the "Santa Maria". Some of them took 12 months to construct and many of these models are now in British and Dublin museums. Sir George Pilkington purchased many French prisoner of war model ships and A W Kiddie undertook the difficult and delicate restoration of these models, reconstructing them and rigging them. The work took over two years and he worked under the supervision of Sir George, in the tower of Sir George's residence "Belle Vue". The rigging of these minute models was carried out using human hair, a very unusual practice at the time. These models now have a showcase to themselves in a prominent position in the Liverpool Museum." The above is an excerpt from an undated newspaper cutting and from it.

This model was built during the last few years of his life, and is dated 1910 on the plaque above the door. The attention to detail and fantastic quality of the model making compare with the finest ivory carving anywhere in the world. A W Kiddie's work is on display at the British Museum, the South Kensington Museum, the Liverpool Museum and had been on exhibition in Dublin.

gbp 12500.00 (Pound Sterling)

Choose currency: AUD - Australian Dollar BRL - Brazilian Real CAD - Canadian Dollar CZK - Czech Koruna DKK - Danish Krone EUR - Euro HKD - Hong Kong Dollar TRY - New Turkish Lira NZD - New Zealand Dollar NOK - Norwegian Krone GBP - Pound Sterling ZAR - Rand RUB - Russian Ruble SGD - Singapore Dollar SEK - Swedish Krona CHF - Swiss Franc USD - US Dollar JPY - Yen PLN - Zloty
Please note: This is a guide conversion price only as we update our currency table every six hours, please check with dealer which currencies are an acceptable form of payment.

Please email or call +44 (0)1243 533772 for more information or to purchase this item.

FOR SALE