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Captain Cook's 'Hm Bark Endeavour' plaque: a cannon emblem made…
Sale Title:
Auction House:
Auction Location:
Melbourne
Date:
21-Mar-2012
Lot No.
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Description:
Captain Cook's 'Hm Bark Endeavour' plaque: a cannon emblem made from pig-iron ballast tossed overboard from hallmarked sterling Endeavour after it foundered in 1770 on what is now Endeavour Reef off the Queensland coast, the emblem, featuring the Royal crest of King George II, taken from one of the six cannons recovered, together with a quantity of iron and stone ballast, that was jettisoned by Captain Cook in 1770, and discovered in 1969 by an American expedition from the Philadelphia Academy of natural Sciences, under the leadership of Dr Virgil Kaufman, the emblem was used as the master mould for a dozen replicas mounted on wooden plaques - seven were presented in 1970 to heads of Government, including her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II and the President of the United States, to commemorate Captain James Cook’s Bicentenary. [one of the plaques is in the Australian National Maritime Museum in Sydney, the other three are in private hands, including one with the family of Dr Virgil Kaufman] This plaque was presented to Rex Banks, an officer in the Department of Shipping and Transport, who also served in the Australian Embassy in Washington 1967-70. An exceptional piece with a direct link to Australia’s past.
Estimate:
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Price:
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Category:
Unclassified