the mechanical galleon elaborate nef table ornament form ship which also automaton and clock

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The Mechanical Galleon is an elaborate nef or table ornament in the form of a ship, which is also an automaton and clock. Royalty Free Stock Photo

The Mechanical Galleon is an elaborate nef or table ornament in the form of a ship, which is also an automaton and clock.

It was constructed in about 1585 by Hans Schlottheim in southern Germany. It was in the possession of Augustus, Elector of Saxony who would have been one of the model courtiers shown on the ship. The model is now in the British Museum in London. Nefs were extravagant ship-shaped table ornaments in precious metal that had been popular for some centuries among the very wealthy. Earlier types, such as the Burghley Nef, usually functioned as containers for salt, spices or other things, but the figures on deck in this example leave no room for a function of this sort. It is also mostly made of gilded brass, where earlier royal examples were usually in gold or at least silver-gilt.