Since 1793
Admiral Lord Horatio Nelson
A hand-made & painted ceramic figure of Admiral Lord Horatio Nelson, British Naval Commander and charismatic national hero. A unique gift for the naval history buff in your life.
Hand-painted using freehand brushwork the intricate detail on this figure of Admiral Nelson is one of the most time-consuming we make. The front of his uniform is quite some feat for our decorators to pull-off, but we hope it reflects quite how much Nelson loved his dress uniform and medals. We don’t make “flat back” figures so do take a look at the brandy barrel on the reverse of the figure, rumour has it that his body was stored in a brandy barrel after his death at the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805 to ensure its safe return to England for burial. Our Nelson even sports a hint at the famous eye injury he sustained during the capture of Corsica.
Widely regarded as the greatest officer in the history of the British Navy, this is a design that’s close to our heart. The now late Tarquin Cole attended Dartmouth Naval College in the 1950s and became a naval officer before moving into the world of Art & Design. He retained a life-long interest in the Navy & Military history and this figure was originally conceived and researched by him and then modelled by Neal French to mark the 200th Anniversary of the Battle of Trafalgar in 2005. We make this figure individually each and every time so there will always be slight differences in each piece, adding to the sense of uniqueness.
While we haven’t quite stretched to HMS Victory, we do also produce a companion figure for Nelson in the form of the Admiral’s beloved Lady Emma Hamilton. One of the great scandals of the age, this illicit love affair was much gossiped about during the late 1700’s and early 1800’s and eventually saw Nelson leaving his wife for his beloved Emma. Regular customers will know we quite often have a feminist bee in our bonnet so do consider reading up on this impressive woman.