This contribution represents an attempt at a first outline of an art history of late medieval ship models and their contexts of use. Focusing on the mid-thirteenth through early sixteenth centuries, an age of rapidly expanding horizons, this study examines the design and role of miniature vessels at the intersection between devotional practices, courtly culture, modes of patronage and technological change. It explores three categories of ship models in particular: ex-voto ships that were presented to a specific shrine after a miraculous rescue at sea or naval victory; nefs, which served as princely table decorations and containers of commodities such as salt and spices; and nefs that, subsequent to their use as banqueting props, were repurposed as devotional vessels that either contained relics or possibly functioned as ex-votos.

这一贡献代表了对中世纪晚期船模及其使用背景的艺术史的初步概述。本研究着眼于 13 世纪中叶至 16 世纪初，一个视野迅速扩大的时代，研究了微型船只在虔诚实践、宫廷文化、赞助模式和技术变革之间的交叉点的设计和作用。它特别探讨了三类船舶模型：在海上奇迹般的救援或海军胜利后被赠送给特定神殿的前投票船；nefs，用作王公的餐桌装饰品和盐和香料等商品的容器；和nefs 在用作宴会道具之后，它们被重新用作包含遗物或可能用作前票的灵修器皿。