WW2 1930's German Ship in Bottle Flag Folk Art

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WW2 1930's German Ship in Bottle Flag Folk Art

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Sold Date: 09/06/2008
Channel: Online Auction
Source: eBay
Category: Fine Art

World War II I consider myself a student of history, and have always been fascinated with the pathos and ethos of the nations and people involved in World War II. My own father fought against the Axis in Italy in the second World War. It was an amazing time in the long history of world politics. Not everyone knows that t were a lot of German prisoners of war who were interned in the US and Canada. In the esoteric and small world of collecting folk art and ships in bottles, one of the prized and highly valued additions to a serious collection are SIBS made by prisoners of war. T were literally thousands of POW's in various parts of Canada during WW II, and the German prisoners sometimes made ships in bottles in exchange for cigarettes and candy. I have maybe a dozen beautiful SIBS made by prisoners of war from both sides of the conflict -- actually, from both the Second AND First World Wars. None of those POW ships in bottles carry the Nazi ensign, for obvious reasons -- nobody would give a dime for a SIB bearing the flag of the enemy. The SIBS made by POWs usually have US, British or French flags. But this ship and bottle offered does indeed have a faded red and white-circled Nazi flag -- so that pretty much dates it to late 1930's, just prior to the US getting involved in Europe. It obviously was made by a German sailor.

What's For Sale? This is a incredible ship in bottle. The name on the ship is Arko. And while I can't prove the connection, t was indeed a German cruiser named Arko that was apparently involved in the D-Day invasion of France. If you have interest, so a Google search for "Arko" and you'll find some information about a German cruiser ship named Arco. It could be that the person who made this ship in bottle was naming it after the cruiser. Your guess is as good as mine. If anyone has any information about the ship Arko, let me know and I will add it to this description.

Details ... Details ... You can see from the pictures that it is made beautifully with great attention to detail. The ship itself has intricate rigging, and great details on the hull. Hand carved and handpainted, the hull has small details both fore and aft, including additional small painted details on the rigging and masts. The Nazi flag has the typical swastika inside the white circle of a red flag. The thing about German SIBS is that they are always well detailed and well made. In this one, the rigging is tight -- no loose shards or pieces inside the bottle.Very "clean" and very tight. The bottle is 10 inches (25 cm) in length and square -- it needs no stand. At the end of the neck is a cork encased in silver foil.

Negative Space Inside The Bottle. The space inside the bottle was planned nicely, with an unusual diorama at the rear (bottom) of the bottle -- it looks as though t is a real rock inside the bottle, but I know it isn't real. It's just the skill of the person who made this -- he literally carved the resin to make the most realistic rock sea wall I've ever seen in a SIB. The "rock" even contains evidence of eroding strata -- just like a real rocky shoreline that was battered by the sea. On top of the shore are three mysterious brown buildings with white windows. Never seen buildings quite like these -- they are indeed "odd" and different. In addition, the diorama contains some plants and vegetation, some of which might not even be visible in the posted photos. The sea resin itself is incredibly realistic. In the background of the bottle interior is a hand painted blue sky with white clouds. Very nicely done.

A highly skilled crafts-person made this SIB -- and even though anyone with a heartbeat has to be sickened by the horrors of the holocaust and lasting effects of the war, this offering has nothing to do with politics. It is just a piece of folk art made by a sailor who happened to be on the side of the Germans. It's a work of folk art -- not a political statement. It would be a most worthy addition to any serious collectors' ship i...