Replica Ship Models – Nautical Art or Marketing Tool? Perhaps Both.

Boat builders and owners have been using replica models for centuries. The earliest known models are of Bronze Age ships, made of clay. Archaeologists have found accurate scale ship models in Egyptian tombs dating as far back as 2000 B.C. Ancient ship and boat models have been discovered throughout the Mediterranean, especially from ancient Greece, Egypt, and Phoenicia. Archaeologists have determined that ancient Greek ship models were used as burial or votive offerings and as household articles such as lamps or drinking vessels.