Dutch Slave Ship — 17th–18th C. Cross-Section Cutaway Model (21.6 in / 55 cm, Handcrafted Wood)

A cross-section cutaway of a Dutch transatlantic slave ship — built as a teaching object rather than a decorative one.

Cutaway models exist to show what a closed hull hides. Here that means the deck arrangement below the waterline: the low headroom between decks, the shelving and partitions, the proportion of the vessel given over to human cargo versus stores. It is not a comfortable object to look at, and it is not meant to be.

Specification

• 21.6 in / 55 cm
• Handcrafted wood, plank-on-frame construction with exposed framing
• Sectioned hull showing internal deck structure across all levels
• Individually laid decks, bulkheads, ladders and hold
• Finished on internal surfaces normally hidden by planking
• Solid wood base with engraved brass nameplate
• Fully assembled

Historical note

Between the 16th and 19th centuries, Dutch vessels carried roughly 550,000 enslaved Africans across the Atlantic — a fraction of the twelve million-plus taken in total by all European carriers. Cross-section drawings of these ships, most famously the 1788 plan of the Brookes, became central evidence for the abolition movement precisely because the arrangement of the decks made the argument better than any speech could.

This model belongs in a classroom, a study or a museum context. We list it because the history is worth confronting, not decorating around.