Benjamin Asmussen

Av, hvor er det grimt!

Beautiful exhibition of the 18th century Danish portrait artist Jens Juel has just opened at the art museum Brandts in Odense, Denmark.

My favorite painting shows a Chinese sailor in Copenhagen, wearing a borrowed mandarin suit in the 1780s - likely one of the very first Chinese to visit Denmark!

How it can sometimes feel to be a maritime historian - constantly having to defend the importance of ships, shipping and sailors :-)
#maritimehistory

SENIOR RESEARCHER IN ARCTIC CULTURES AND CULTURAL HERITAGE at The National Museum of Denmark in Copenhagen, DENMARK Jan 6, 2025 | National Museum of Denmark Senior Researcher in Arctic Cultures and Cultural Heritage The National Museum of Denmark (NMD) invites applications... | NEW JOB

An exciting (and timely!) job for someone - Senior Researcher in Arctic Cultures and Cultural Heritage at the National Museum of Denmark. Deadline is 17th February: www.researchgate.net/job/1018407_...

📢 New Open access article

At the Baltic gate: Copenhagen's role in international shipping in the latter half of the eighteenth century by Yrjö Kaukiainen

In the late 18th C. Copenhagen was the second biggest urban centre in the Baltic Sea area.

Read the article here - doi.org/10.1177/0843...

On a sailing ship, I would image the crews mostly handling the mooring themselves. But it seems reasonable in a large port that nearby dockworkers might help now and then...

What period are you writing about?

Very interesting, thank you!

That sounds immensely interesting! Do you know if there is any news in the matter?

Had the pleasure of examining three of my museums wonderful figures of Danish-Norwegian supercargoes, created by a Chinese facemaker-artist in Canton in 1731.

The detail created by the Chinese artist is just incredible - just look at the eyes, eyelashes and the whig!
#maritimehistory #canton

Castle Kronborg in Elsinore, likely painted by an 18th century Chinese artist. But on which basis?

I am researching five large paintings, that I believe were painted in 18th cent. Canton by Chinese artists. So far, I have found the copperplates the paintings were painted after for four paintings, but I still need the last one. It shows Kronborg in Elsinore, but what was it painted after?

The old symbols of seafaring, trade and wealth are everywhere in central Copenhagen, visible if you just look up!

Near the ancient cathedral in Lund in southern Sweden after a sunny winter’s day. Such a beautiful town!

Thanks for your support :-)

That looks very likely, thanks a lot!

A naval battle adorns this table clock from the 1650’s at the National Museum of Denmark. But the master engraver must have looked at an older image for inspiration, as the ship looks more 1500s to me - what do you think?
#navalhistory #maritimehistory #earlymodern

The English musician Darby Scott playing at the court of king Christian IV of Denmark & Norway.

The larger painting by Reinhold Timm dates from 1622.

#earlymodern

Eckersberg was an great painter of maritime motifs.

59!

An American naval brig drying sails, likely in Danish waters. Painted by C.W. Eckersberg in 1831/32. The painting belongs to the museum SMK in Copenhagen.

I wonder which ship it is?

#maritimehistory #usnavy #navalhistory

Thank you :-)

Hi, I would love to join the list!

Well, the world is a big place, especially multiplied by some thousand years. You cannot know (or be interested in) everything..

Visited colleagues today in a section of the National Museum I have never been to before. Quite a nice view from their offices :-)
#copenhagen #christiansborg

1k followers already, thank you!

To celebrate is here an old Finnish brig and my shadow from a midsummers sunset on the fascinating island of #Soumenlinna or #Sveaborg in Finland this summer :-)
#maritimehistory

Good point in explaining the term for new readers. As a 18th century historian, I smile at the mentions of the long 16th century and long 17th century that keep popping up here. Apparently, all centuries seems to go on forever! :-)

Måske er det mere hensigtsmæssigt med en oversigt over relevante Starter Packs? Tror at vi allerede er flere tusinde danske forskere herinde…

Very interesting! Would love to hear more about it. Now you inspired me to find the books here in Copenhagen - a single used book shop had a copy waiting for me :-)

…or perhaps rather ending at the Napoleonic Wars? Hmmm… :-)

I would say it differed from country to country. In Denmark I would usually say around 1600 till the advent of democracy in 1848.