Christie’s maritime art sale on Wednesday, which closes out January’s dense calendar of auctions, reminds us that collecting, in all its novel forms, is driven by an idiosyncratic passion. To the uninitiated, the pile of bric-a-brac — scrimshaw, model boats, clocks, sextants, and romantic paintings of ships at sea — looks more like the toys of men refusing to abandon their adolescence than valuable collectibles and art. But to the committed enthusiast, maritime art is a window not only onto a romantic age of steam, sail, and battle, but also onto an industry that shaped our world.

The market for maritime art ranges from sporting enthusiasts to museums with a focus on American life to model collectors who value the accuracy and ingenuity of the model-making craft. The market also extends to “people with summer houses and yachts, people who enjoy their leisure time activities,” one of Christie’s maritime art experts, Gregg Dietrich, said. They may be attracted to the various examples of seamen’s handicraft, such as the scrimshawed whales’ teeth, or the so-called “sailors’ valentines,” complex mosaics of shells arrayed in oxes or frames that attest to ship-hands’ devotion over long sea voyages. One of the lots has the motif “Home Again” at its center.

Collectors also might be attracted to the former tools of the captain’s trade. The sale includes a number of chronometers, sextants, and a few ships’ binnacles and wheels. But the bulk of the sale is devoted to depictions of ships — sail, steam, and diesel — in models, photographs, and paintings. The models and paintings are the stars, with estimates reaching high into the six figures. Models attract collectors who are interested in “maritime history as a direct correlation to the development of engineering and technology,” Mr. Dietrich said. They’re also interested in the detail of the model. Take the model of the SS Belasco. Estimated at between $40,000 and $60,000, it has gold-plated fittings. Or the model of the lighthouse tender TSS Isolda, estimated at between $30,000 and $50,000. These models stand out, among the tankers, tugboats, and cruise ships presented to their owners by the builder, for the level of their model-making art.

Builders’ presentation models were common when a shipyard completed a liner, but they were rare when the boat was a 22-foot race boat. The Truant, a model of a simple 19th-century sloop — estimated at between $15,000 and $25,000 — is valued for its rarity. Maritime paintings are defined by the presence of a known ship in the picture. That gives the sale wide latitude in presenting folk-art depictions alongside painters of the first rank, all trying to capture the indescribable beauty of ships at port, engaged in battle, or beset by storms.

This sale has excellent examples of these maritime masters. From the 19th century, there are works by Samuel Walters, including a painting of the American merchant ship Rajah Gopaul, estimated at between $60,000 and $80,000. James Gale Tyler has a painting of a New York Yacht Club schooner on Long Island Sound, estimated at between $80,000 and $120,000. And William Bradford is represented by two works, “Fishing boats off a Northern headland,” estimated at between $100,000 and $150,000, and the sublime “Sunset glow on sea and land,” an arctic scene that is estimated at between $120,000 and $180,000.

There are many other striking paintings showing these painters’ ability to capture the hardships and romance of seafaring. The many and varied ways in which waves and water can be painted are on display here, including rich chiaroscuro effects and luminous touches that show the influence of other artistic schools.

The high point of the 19th-century works is James Edward Buttersworth’s “Kennebec,” estimated at between $150,000 and $200,000. Buttersworth’s works have sold for as much as $600,000 at auction. The “Kennebec” shows him working in his masterpiece style, the wind rippling through sails, the hurried motion of the ship and water against a complex and varied background of weather.

Romance is a key ingredient in maritime art. As the age of sail recedes, the 20th-century practitioners have shifted into a nostalgic key. The great maritime painter of the 20th century, Montague Dawson, began his career illustrating naval actions during both world wars for a weekly publication. Like a seagoing Norman Rockwell, Dawson evolved as an artist. Taking his skill at transforming telegraphic descriptions of battles into dramatic engagements, Dawson began to reach further back into naval history. His “Argus engaging His Majesty’s sloop Pelican in British Waters,” estimated at between $80,000 and $120,000, animates a fierce action from the War of 1812. In his day, Dawson was, along with Picasso, one of the world’s highest-paid artists. “Night Surprise,” estimated at between $150,000 and $250,000, pays homage to that success.