Le Superbe Tall Ship Model Dimensions: 41"(long) x 34"(tall) x 12"(wide) (includes masts) Shipping & Insurance: $ 70 Included(Continental U.S. only) List Price:760.00 Your Price $549.00 (You Save: %) Contact us for availability

Le Superbe
French Ship of the Line

French Ship History

The French began to build their fleet of the ships of the line after Louis XIV took effective power in 1661. His great minister Colbert was in control of the Navy from 1663. In order to rebuild the fleet, Colbert used the resources of Europe. He attracted shipwrights from Malta, Barcelona, Holland, and other shipbuilding centres. Great shipwrights such as Anthony Deane of England were used as occasional advisers.

A few large ships were built at Brest and Rochefort shipyard in the early 1660s, but the first real class of French ships of the line consisted of seven vessels built in Holland in 1666.

The process of expansion continued, culminating with ships such as the Superbe of 1671, registered at 1,300 tons and carrying up to 76 guns on two decks.

Colbert created his first regulations dividing the fleet into Rates. The First Rate comprised the three-deckers, from 80 guns upwards. It contained the sub-division known as the “premier rang extraordinaire” , which included such vessels as the Royal Louis and the Soleil Royal.

The Architect - Jacques Noel Sane

The Superbe, a french vessel of 74 cannons was constructed according to the plans of the most well-known engineer of the maritime history : Jacques Noel Sane. The Superbe was put to the ship yard of Brest in 1782 and was launched in 1784. It is the exact model which represents the french battle ship of the end of the ancient regime, of the revolution and the Empire. Apart from the Superbe, many other vessels like the "Boree, l’Audacieux, l’Orion" etc. were constructed and based on the plans of Sane.

The Admiration of her peers

Three masted, with two decks, seventy-six guns, and extreme manoeuvrability won the Superbe a lot of admirers, including the English. On the Superbe, Pepys commented, with some exaggeration, “She was forty feet broad, carried seventy-four guns and six months provision”.

A historian of the British Marine said to one of them : "It was not only the biggest one, but it was also the most beautiful that we have seen up to here and in spite of its big side it could be manoeuvred as a frigate."

Designed and copied

The influence of the French Court on the arts during the reign of Louis XIV in the seventeenth century was considerable, but there was little similarity between the decorations of the French and British ships; of all the national styles, they were the least alike. One noteworthy exception was the practice of fitting open galleries or balconies, where the English followed the French.

In 1672, the eminent shipwright Anthony Deane was directed by Charles II to build his new ships along the lines of the Superbe, which had open galleries. They first appeared in 1673, and became increasingly common in English ships, and indeed in other nations ships.

Le Superbe Lost at Sea

Le Superbe sailed as part of Admiral Villaret de Joyeuse’s fleet. It was a period of great fights against the British fleet.

Le Superbe came to a tragic end being sunk in a storm in 1795. It was a masterful piece of art and beautiful sculpture that sank to the bottom of the ocean.

We've brought it to life again at the scale of 1/150 with its maze of masts, sails and ropes, its winged bow shape and its naughty flag. A faithful masterpiece of art, beautiful as a sculpture, with a meter of length which will make the heart of history and sea lovers beat.

LE SUPERBE
mso_ts_spbList Price: $760.00Your Price $549.00