Scale: 1:33. A contemporary full hull model of the 'Zeven Provincien' (1723), a Dutch East Indiaman cargo vessel, built plank on frame. Model is decked, equipped and fully rigged (modern). At this scale the ship measured 147 feet along the deck by 44 feet in the beam and an approximate tonnage of 1150 burden. Although this model cannot be identified to a ship bearing this name, it is one of seven of the period 1715-1725 that are among the earliest representations of merchant ships in existence.

The Dutch East India Company was founded in 1598 to open up trade with India and the Far East. Other countries had similar fleets operating around the world from the 17th-19th centuries, and as such had to be armed against attack from pirates or the enemy during times of conflict. The ships were generally ‘fully built’ with large holds for carrying cargo and provisions for many weeks. They carried an armament similar in size to that of a warship but with a much smaller crew.