19th Century Sailor’s Woolwork of HMS Atalanta, Royal Navy Frigate Under Sail

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A large and genuinely historic British sailor’s woolwork of HMS Atalanta, the Royal Navy training frigate that sailed from Bermuda … Read more A large and genuinely historic British sailor’s woolwork of HMS Atalanta, the Royal Navy training frigate that sailed from Bermuda in January 1880 and was never seen again — lost with all 280 aboard, one of the great maritime mysteries of the Victorian age. Her name is stitched right into the sea below the hull, and touchingly misspelled "HMS ATLANTA": the sailor who made this knew his ship by the sound of her name, not the spelling.

The ship herself is a beauty — shown in port side view under a full spread of sails, each one carefully edged in raised wool so the canvas seems to billow off the surface, with the White Ensign at the stern, a long pennant streaming from the mainmast, a little anchor and leafy scrollwork on the hull, and a lighthouse coming into view off her bow. The sea is worked in mingled greens and golds, the sky in long ribbons of blue and white. It’s in good condition with no repairs, framed in giltwood with a slip, and glazed with museum UV conservation glass so the colors stay put.

At two feet by nearly three, it’s a commanding piece with a story your guests will ask about. Hang it over a mantel or a sideboard, anchor a study or library wall, or give it pride of place in a coastal house among ship models and old charts. Named-ship woolworks are the ones collectors chase — and this name comes with a legend attached.

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