Brass Galleon Plaque, Tompion Style, Mounted on Turned Wood – Sally Antiques

Description

~ Brass Galleon Plaque, Tompion Style, Mounted on Turned Wood – could be from an Italian WW1 Cruiser ~

A circular relief brass or white metal plaque depicting a galleon under sail, worked in repoussé, the ship shown broadside on a choppy sea with a tall central mast rigged with furled sails, a smaller foremast and mizzen mast, a large angled sail set forward at the bow, and a long streaming pennant flying from the masthead. A raised, ladder like superstructure is visible at the stern. The scene is set within a plain recessed field, bordered by a narrow ribbed or gadrooned rim. The plaque is mounted within a turned wooden surround with a stepped, moulded profile, the reverse fitted with a keyhole plate for wall hanging, alongside additional mounting screw holes. The wooden body has a slightly raised, narrower section at the top back edge, a profile consistent with turned tompion style mounts used for displaying naval gun plugs, muzzle covers traditionally decorated with a ship’s or unit’s badge and retained as mementoes once removed from service. 

Historical context

Tompions, or tampions, are the plugs used to seal the muzzles of naval and artillery guns when not in use, protecting the bore from sea water, salt air, and debris. From at least the nineteenth century onward it became common practice to decorate these plugs with an embossed or cast badge relating to the ship, unit, or squadron to which the gun belonged, and to retain them as mementoes of service once a vessel was decommissioned or a gun retired, a tradition that has since extended to vessels that never carried heavy guns at all, submarines among them, simply for the decorative and commemorative format. This example carries a generic galleon under sail rather than an identifiable ship’s badge, coat of arms, motto, or naval crown, so while the wooden mount is consistent with the tompion tradition, the specific vessel, unit, or navy it may relate to, if any, cannot be confirmed from the piece itself.

~ Dimensions ~

The piece in its mount measures 11.5 inches (29cm) in diameter. The bronze itself measures 7.5 inches (19cm). The piece weighs 1.96kg.

~ Condition ~

The piece is in very good condition with the casting clean and detailed. There is some light surface scratching to the woodwork but the finish is overall fine.