Osaka, Japan: 1959
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Ile de France Ocean Liner Relic Gavel |
Relic gavel made from the wood of the ocean liner Ile de France, with an oval sterling silver plaque attached to the handle. The ship was scrapped in Osaka, Japan, in 1959. The gavel has an unconventional design: the clean lines and curve of the handle, as opposed to the usual turned handle; the mortise and tenon join of the handle to the mallet head; and the unusual shape of the mallet head with a larger hammer head on one side than the other. These design elements suggest that the gavel was made in Japan and infused with a Japanese design sensibility and/or that the streamlined Modernist look was meant to be in keeping with the Ile de France's renowned Art Deco décor. Built in France, and operated by the French Line, the Ile de France was the first large ocean liner built after World War I, and marked a new era in ship design as the first ship decorated in the Art Deco style. As such, it generated attention in the French and foreign press when it was launched in 1926, and influenced the design of subsequent vessels. By 1935 it held the record for having carried more first class passengers than any other transatlantic liner. During World War II, the Ile de France was converted into a military troopship and used by the British and American forces. After the war, it was refitted for passenger use, and sailed from 1949 to 1959. By the end of the 1950s, air travel had made transatlantic ocean voyages obsolete, and the French Line sold the ship to a Japanese scrapping company. Before being dismantled in Osaka in 1959, it appeared as a prop in the Hollywood movie, The Last Voyage. The ship is also remembered for having assisted in the rescue of survivors from the Andrea Doria-Stockholm collision in 1956. Engraved oval plaque: “Souvenir of Ile de France/ Scrapped After Due Honors Rendered/ Osaka, Japan, August, 1959/ Sterling.” Condition: Generally very good with the usual light overall wear and markings to head from use. Hardwood unidentified, though possibly teak. Reference: Tam, Kevin R. "Ile de France." Uncommon Journeys. 1997. http://uncommonjourneys.com/pages/iledefrance.htm (15 February 2006). |