Scale: not calculated. A charming and decorative item that is a fusion of a painting and a model. 'St Botolph' (circa 1880), a steamer, moves purposefully through the water from left to right, leaving a wake with smoke billowing from its single stack, both features achieved using cotton wool. In the background, a well painted panorama shows a rock lighthouse and a variety of shipping on a bright, breezy day.

The whole scenario is set into a glass-fronted display case, around which is set an ornamental gold-metalled frame. It is like a three-dimensional picture and for full effect it should hang on a wall. It is a genre of modelmaking that was very popular in the second half of the 19th century and particularly the 1880s. This is a particularly good example in which both the model and the background have been well executed, though there is a conflict here between the physical and the ‘tromp l’oeil’ in that there are both actual and painted waterlines which don’t match.

The depicted vessel has the fine lines of a steam yacht, but also has hatch covers, so is probably fanciful, even though it may look authentic to the untrained eye. Three people are shown on deck, enjoying the trip. It has not been possible to trace a comparable vessel of that name.