Building Pâris’ Beden Seyad: a replica of the Omani 19th‐century sewn fishing vessel

Abstract

The beden seyad is a simple yet elegant Omani sewn fishing craft documented by the French naval officer François‐Edmond Pâris during his visit in Oman in 1838–1839. A 10m‐long scaled‐down replica of the vessel was built by a team of experts in a traditional boatyard in Qantab, the Sultanate of Oman, and is displayed in the Maritime History Gallery at the National Museum of Oman. This article describes different aspects of the building process of the vessel, from the material used to the method of construction. It compares the different versions of the beden drawing provided by Pâris and discusses the decision‐making and problem‐solving procedures carried out by the construction team.

Abstracto

Construyendo el Beden Seyad de François‐Edmond Pâris: réplica de una embarcación pesquera omaní cosida del siglo XIX

El Beden Seyad es una embarcación pesquera omaní cosida simple, pero elegante documentada por el oficial naval François‐Edmond Pâris durante su visita a Omán entre 1838 y 1839. Una réplica de la embarcación a escala reducida con 10 metros de eslora fue construida por un equipo de expertos en un astillero tradicional en Qantab, Sultanato de Omán. La réplica está expuesta en la Galería de Historia Marítima del Museo Nacional de Omán. Este artículo describe diferentes aspectos del proceso de construcción de la embarcación, desde los materiales empleados hasta el método de construcción. Se comparan diferentes versiones de los dibujos del beden elaborados por Pâris y se discuten los procedimientos de toma de decisiones y solución de problemas puestos en práctica por el equipo constructor.

抽象

建造帕里斯的“贝顿·瑟亚德”号 (Beden Seyad):一-19世纪阿曼缝制渔船的复制品

“贝顿·瑟亚德”号是一艘简单而-雅的阿曼缝制渔船, 1838‐1839年法国海军军官佛朗索瓦‐艾德蒙·帕里斯访-阿曼时将之记录在册。一-10米长的缩小比例复制品由一组专家在阿曼苏丹国的冈塔波一家传统造船厂建造而成, 并放置在阿曼国家博物馆的海事历史厅展出。本文介绍了建造过程中-使用材料到施工方法的各个方面, 并比较了帕里斯不同版本的“贝顿”号图像, 以及探讨建造团体的决策和解决问-过程。

建造帕里斯的“貝頓•瑟亞德”號 (Beden Seyad):一-19世紀阿曼縫制漁船的複制品

“貝頓•瑟亞德”號是一艘簡單而優雅的阿曼縫制漁船, 1838‐1839年法國海軍軍官佛朗索瓦‐艾德蒙•帕里斯訪問阿曼時將之-錄在冊。一-10米長的縮小比例複制品由一組專家在阿曼蘇丹國的岡塔波一家傳統造船廠建造而成, 並放置在阿曼國家博物館的海事歷史廳展出。本文介紹了建造過程中從使用材料到施工方法的各個方面, 並比較了帕里斯不同版本的“貝頓”號圖像, 以及探討建造團體的決策和解決問題過程。

ملخص

Key words:

• sewn‐plank boat
• beden seyad
• Amiral Pâris
• Oman
• Indian Ocean
• experimental reconstruction

Acknowledgements

The author is thankful to H.E. Sayyid Badr Hamad Al‐Busaidi, Undersecretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, for his support during the project in Oman and to the Ministry of Heritage and Culture and the National Museum of Oman for commissioning the construction of the replica. I would also express my gratitude to the Musée national de la Marine for providing the image of Pâris’ original manuscript and granting me the permission to use it in this article. A special thanks is due to Tom Vosmer, consultant to the project, for his precious advice and suggestions, and to Eric Staples, former director of Oman Maritime, the research and traditional boatbuilding centre where the replica was built. Last but not least, I would like to thank the traditional Omani and Indian carpenters and rope‐workers who mastered the art of sewn‐plank construction and kindly shared their knowledge with me.