Finely Carved Half-block Model of the America’s Cup Yacht Defender

A finely carved half-block model of the America’s Cup yacht Defender, laid up in exotic timbers and mounted on an ebonised elm backboard. The model retains its original ink-inscribed label and is signed to the reverse, with the date stamped 23.8.96, confirming both authorship and period. Defender was designed by the legendary American naval architect Nathanael Greene Herreshoff, often referred to as “the Wizard of Bristol,” and built by the Herreshoff Manufacturing Company at Bristol, Rhode Island. Commissioned for a New York Yacht Club syndicate led by William K. Vanderbilt, she successfully defended the America’s Cup in 1895, securing her place among the most important yachts of the late 19th century and reinforcing Herreshoff’s unrivalled reputation in yacht design.