Page 151 - Nicolaes Witsen & Shipbuilding in the Dutch Golden Age

81. The Stern Gallery
Terminology is complicated here because we do not have real English equivalents. Even in Dutch many of the terms used by Witsen have disappeared. The stern gallery was a complicated architectural whole (see fig. 2.167). As was customary in baroque dec oration, the m ain parts were separated by horizontal curved cornices and vertical carved consoles.
The first cornice, the lower or fi rst hackebord (lit., “carved plank”), served as the aftermost support of the deck of the c aptain’s cabin. This piece of wood was of- ten carved as an ornamental molding, the architrave, and planed into a cymatium, called an ovolo if it had an egg- and-dart motif (see fi g. 2.169). Other pattern s were also used (see fig. 2.178).
The first hackebord was c overed by the first cover, which was as b road as the height of the hackebord. The cover concealed the cross-grained ends of the deck plank- ing and had the s ame curve. It formed the basis for the consoles that were installed underneath the windows for statues to rest on. On e ach side the pl ank protruded to become the foot of the quarter gallery.
A set of c ounter timbers was raised from th is base, forming a bulbous or S-shaped counter called het ronde wulf (lit., “the rou nd counter”) and c ontinuing as the posts between the windows and higher up as vertical tim- bers of the flat of the stern, to which the coat of arms was attached at a later stage.
The round c ounter was pl anked up to the windows. Below the wind ows was the second hackebord, carved as well and c overed by the sec ond cover. This cover was quite complex in shape, high in the middle, sloping down- ward toward the s ides and then ri sing again at the end, where the plank was twisted to align with the ra il of the quarter gallery. It was therefore also called the slingerlijst, ortwistedcornice;itwasplanedintoatorus,ac onvex molding (see fig. 2.171).
Between both hackebord covers were the herm piec es and quarter consoles, nailed to the c ounter timbers straight through the counter planking. At the quarter gal- leries carved consoles were also applied.
The windows betweenthesec ond andthirdc over opened into the captain’s cabin, and their posts were dec- orated with figurines, mostly putti (angels in the shape of cherubs). In the quar ter galleries these carvings were of- ten dolphins, while the for ward end was closed off with a small arch or buttress. Left and right of the windows were ornamental decorations, filling the gap between the ship and the st atues in the s ide. The quarter galleries of the
pinas were thus nothing more than an open, cagelike con- struction, encasing the window in the cabin’s side.
The third cover, placed above the windows flush with the planking of the upper c abin deck, joined the upper ledges of the quarter galleries a cross the st ern. It was planed into a cyma (2.175).
The section above the windows and the third cover was called het rechte wulf (the fl at counter) and was closed off at the top b y the uppermost hackebord. Straight un- derneath this hackebord were wh at Witsen calls vaezen, profiled cornices, in between whic h the pl anking could be left off; or thi s narrow section c ould be pl anked and decorated with carved floral motifs or the year of construc- tion and sometimes the name of the ship. If the space be- tween the two c ornices was lef t open, it was of ten filled with balusters, sh aped as vases, which might be the ex - planation for Witsen’s confusing use of the word vaezen. From the text it is clear that he is actually referring to the railings, or m aybe we should c all them “top c ornices” or “covers,” like the ones below. He even spec ifies the amount of camber they have.
On the flat of the stern or upper tr ansom, the escutch- eon was applied. Until about 1640 this was almost invari- ably the arms of the town of origin; afterward the name of the ship was symbolically depicted. Witsen uses his own coat of arms for his illustration, so it seemed to me a good idea to give my test model the same coat of arms.
The flat of the stern is high enough to give ample room for the cabin above the main cabin and for a bench on the uppermost deck with its back to the t affrail. Underneath the bench, of which the front side was closed off by small bars, the captain often kept his chickens.
Flanking this flat of the stern were “st atues in the side,” which continued downward between the sec ond and third cover.
Finally, at the top, above the top cornices, was the third or upper hackebord. Often this section was deco- rated with carved dolphins or lions and other figurines. Al- most all carvings were fashioned from rejected masts and spars, so they were mostly made of pine, though some- times also lime and, in ex ceptional cases, leftover oak. See also section 91 (Then plank it there, and make the Channels) and figure 2.187.
82. [erroneously numbered “92”] The Gunports.
(56 II 5 3) The Pins of the port lids come on to the chocks, and the port lid bel ow closes on the port sill , the port lid is lined on the inside, and nailed with loz- enges. It has ropes to it, to pull it open and shut.
How Ships Are Built in Holland Today
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