***SOLD OUT***Framed Pottery Artwork
From The MV STELLA MARIS II

Items from MV MADAGASCAR (ex BREMERHAVEN, STELLA MARIS II, VIKING BORDEAUX)

Measurements: 19.5 Inches Wide by 15.25 Inches Tall
Ancient Fresco Style Artworks
On Felt In 2" Thick Wooden Frames
Price: $175 each***SOLD OUT***

***THIS ITEM IS NOW SOLD***Above: Number One and detail. Photos and copyright Peter Knego 2009.

***THIS ITEM IS NOW SOLD***Above: Number Two and detail. Photos and copyright Peter Knego 2009.

***THIS ITEM IS NOW SOLD***Above: Number Three and detail. Photos and copyright Peter Knego 2009.

***THIS ITEM IS NOW SOLD***Above: Number Four and detail. Photos and copyright Peter Knego 2009.

Sun Lines' little 2,683 gt STELLA MARIS II was a highly underrated cruise ship, a miniature Nino Zoncada masterpiece. She was built in 1960 by Adler Werft as the German coastal liner BREMERHAVEN and sold to Sun Line after a somewhat troubled early career in 1965 for a complete makeover into the STELLA MARIS II. The MARIS II was small but had all it takes to be a classy cruise ship, including a full deck of public rooms, a nice pool and lido and modest but well-appointed cabins. Zoncada brought his cabal of artists and artisans along for the conversion, filling the ship with works by Paulucci and Luzzati. In 1998, Sun Lines/Epirotiki successor, Royal Olympic Cruises, sold her to Viking Bordeaux Cruises, who unfortunately modernized her a bit, jettisoning the Zoncada chairs in her dining room and covering up Paulucci's grand abstract of Ancient Greece (which I ultimately recovered). Fortunately, the Luzzati works in the lounges and much of the smaller art remained, even after she went on to become the MADAGASCAR for a single Durban-based voyage and a long layup. At one point, it was announced she would become the RAZZMATAZZ for a new outfit that literally planned to dump all of her furniture and paint over or throw out her original artworks. As much as it would have been nice to see this little jewel of a ship return to service, maybe it is good that she just quietly sailed off to Alang, where she was beached in the summer of 2008.

I believe these little hand-painted framed artworks featuring Ancient Greek frescoes were hung in the aft portion of the Belvedere Lounge but perhaps a kind reader can elaborate on this a bit further. I do not know who the artist is. In addition to the nice images within, the frames are quite handsome and were inset into the ship's bulkhead.

Posted: August 19, 2009. Updated Sepbember 14, 2010.