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Lot Essay
The vessels are seen crossing the English Channel leading ships of the Channel Squadron. On board the Royal Yacht, its English and Danish standards flying, was the 18-year old Princess Alexandra of Denmark, travelling to England to marry His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales, later to be King Edward VII.
H.M.S. Warrior was completed during an uneasy peace between Britain and her traditional enemy France. The French had built the Gloire, the first ironclad, and this provoked the British to build a much bigger ship, both iron hulled and ironclad. Thus, at that time, the Warrior became the most formidable battleship the world had ever known.
Though Warrior's speed and performance as a battleship fulfilled her promise (Napoleon III described her as "a black snake among rabbits"), she never actually fired a shot in anger and she was removed from active service in 1883. First a depot, then a torpedo school ship, she eventually became a fuelling hulk surviving into the twentieth century.
In 1979 it was finally decided to fully restore the ship - a task performed by a team of dedicated craftsmen at Hartlepool. The work took eight years and more than seven million pounds. The proud result is that Warrior now lies at Portsmouth, England, as a living museum, fully rigged, fitted out on all four of her vast decks and looking exactly as she did in 1861.
Christie's are grateful to the artist for preparing the above notes to accompany this picture.
H.M.S. Warrior was completed during an uneasy peace between Britain and her traditional enemy France. The French had built the Gloire, the first ironclad, and this provoked the British to build a much bigger ship, both iron hulled and ironclad. Thus, at that time, the Warrior became the most formidable battleship the world had ever known.
Though Warrior's speed and performance as a battleship fulfilled her promise (Napoleon III described her as "a black snake among rabbits"), she never actually fired a shot in anger and she was removed from active service in 1883. First a depot, then a torpedo school ship, she eventually became a fuelling hulk surviving into the twentieth century.
In 1979 it was finally decided to fully restore the ship - a task performed by a team of dedicated craftsmen at Hartlepool. The work took eight years and more than seven million pounds. The proud result is that Warrior now lies at Portsmouth, England, as a living museum, fully rigged, fitted out on all four of her vast decks and looking exactly as she did in 1861.
Christie's are grateful to the artist for preparing the above notes to accompany this picture.