PROBABLY DIEPPE, 19TH CENTURY

The production of Ivory ship models in Dieppe started with the comission of Le Ville de Dieppe by the Dieppe Chamber of Commerce presented to the Emperor Napoleon on his visit to Dieppe on the 27th and 28th of May 1810. This spectacular ship model by Louis Charles Vincent Belleteste with full set of sails and rigging all executed in ivory was of relatively small dimensions 38 x 11 x 38 cm.; Ivory ships models from Dieppe can be as large as 60 cm. The presentation of the Ville de Dieppe set a trend for notable persons passing through Dieppe to comission such a vessel. After the Napoleonic wars had ended Dieppe was also much visited by the English, who in turn returned home with Ivory souvenirs from Dieppe.
Cf. P. Ickowicz, 'Dieppe et l'Ivoire' in P. Malgouyres, Ivoires du musée du Louvre, Paris, 2005, pp. 13-15.