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109:, who was seen as their protector. The Phoenicians used horses representing speed. The Ancient Greeks used the heads of boars to symbolise acute vision and ferocity while Roman boats often mounted a carving of a centurion representing valour in battle. In northern Europe, serpents, bulls, dolphins, and dragons were customary and by the thirteenth century, the swan was used representing grace and mobility.
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A large figurehead, being carved from massive wood and perched on the very foremost tip of the hull, adversely affected the sailing qualities of the ship. This, and cost considerations, led to figureheads being made dramatically smaller during the eighteenth century, and in some cases they were
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structure on which to place it. During the period from the seventeenth to the eighteenth centuries the carved subjects of figureheads varied from representations of saints to patriotic emblems such as the unicorns or lions popular on
British ships. When the ship was named after a royal or naval
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As with the stern ornamentation, the purpose of the figurehead was often to indicate the name of the ship in a non-literate society (albeit in a sometimes very convoluted manner); and always, in the case of naval ships, to demonstrate the wealth and might of the owner. At the height of the
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ships of the 1850s and 1860s customarily had full figureheads, but these were relatively small and light. During their final stage of common use figureheads ranged in length from about 18 inches (46 cm) to 9 feet (2.7 m).
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was the last to sport a figurehead until her breaking up in 1923. Early steamships sometimes had gilt scroll-work and coats-of-arms at their bows. This practice lasted up until about
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originally sported a large bronze figurehead of an eagle (the
Imperial German symbol) standing on a globe. The few extra feet of length added by the figurehead made
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which was the last
British battleship to carry a figurehead. Smaller ships of the Royal Navy continued to carry them. The last example may well have been the sloop
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A ship with oars bears the feirce lioness that appears as a figurehead on two
Ancient Egyptian ships in a circa. 1200 BC depiction of the victory over the invading
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circa 1200 BC depicts
Ancient Egiptian ships with a fierce lioness figurehead carved on the bow of two of the ships. Likely this depicted their warrior goddess,
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118:(gnomes, little men, faeries) dwelt in the figureheads. The spirit guarded the ship from sickness, rocks, storms, and dangerous winds. If the ship sank, the
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they made something of a comeback, but were then often in the form of a small waist-up bust rather than the oversized full figures previously used. The
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The
Ancient Egyptians placed figures of holy birds on the prow. A wall relief at Medinet Habu depicting Ramses III defeating the Sea Peoples in the
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44:, generally of a design related to the name or role of a ship. They were predominant between the sixteenth and twentieth centuries, and modern
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condemned the sailor's soul to haunt the sea forever, so Dutch sailors believed. A similar belief was found in early
Scandinavia.
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period, some ships boasted gigantic figureheads, weighing several tons and sometimes twinned on both sides of the bowsprit.
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of ca. A.D. 800–1100). The menacing appearance of toothy and bug-eyed figureheads on Viking ships were considered a form of
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allocated to different members of the royal court; each barge had a specific mythical figurehead at the front.
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In
Germany, Belgium, and the Netherlands, it was once believed that spirits or faeries called
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might be substituted. This was a smaller, nonfigural carving, most often a curl of foliage.
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of the sixteenth century, as the figurehead as such could not come to be until ships had a
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Early ships often had some form of bow ornamentation (e.g. the eyes painted on the bows of
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Figureheads as such died out with the military sailing ship. In addition the vogue for
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meant that there was no obvious place to mount one on battleships. An exception was
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867:. Foreword by Admiral the Lord Boyce. Barnsley, S. Yorkshire: Seaforth Publishing.
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Figureheads from the
Vestfold Museums's (Norwegian) collections on DigitalMuseum
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Pages 132-133 Volume IV, Micropaedia
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 15th Edition
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guided the sailors' souls to the Land of the Dead. To sink without a
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A general practice of figureheads was introduced in Europe with the
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Send a Gunboat The Victorian Navy and Supremacy at Sea, 1854–1904
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personage the head and bust of the individual might be shown.
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the longest ship in the world at the time of her launch.
155:, figureheads were used to distinguish several types of
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were the last British battleships to carry the feature.
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391:It is still common practise for warships to carry
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674:Figureheads & ship carvings at Mystic Seaport
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775:"Terminology from the Age of Sail: Billethead"
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723:Warrior Restoring the World's First Ironclad
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183:abolished altogether around 1800. After the
133:The ceremonial barge used during the annual
82:, the Roman practice of putting carvings of
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36:is a carved wooden decoration found at the
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833:The Mariners' Museum Figurehead Collection
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310:The eagle figurehead of the German liner
246:Learn how and when to remove this message
23:Figurehead on a model of the French ship
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563:The figurehead of British clipper ship
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725:. Conway maritime press. p. 152.
94:, serving the function of warding off
86:on the bows of their galleys, and the
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228:adding citations to reliable sources
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838:Winchester, Clarence, ed. (1937),
653:. Royal Naval Museum Library. 2000
367:launched in 1903. Her sister ship
271:National Historical Museum, Athens
151:In pre-colonial Burma, during the
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789:"Billethead from Ship "Favorite""
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823:History Trust of South Australia
753:. Conway Maritime. p. 120.
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141:uses a figurehead at right of a
677:. Marine Historical Association
215:needs additional citations for
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671:Stackpole, Edouard A. (1964).
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447:The bow and the figurehead of
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865:Figureheads of the Royal Navy
844:Shipping Wonders of the World
818:Telegraph Gallery (17 images)
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863:Pulvertaft, David (2011).
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16:Decoration at prow of ship
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791:. National Gallery of Art
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340:Mariners' Museum and Park
631:Viking Ship's Figurehead
377:. The 1910 German liner
338:, and on display at the
103:Battle of the Nile Delta
48:fulfil a similar role.
1241:Sailing ship components
945:Apparent wind indicator
547:. Close-up view of the
525:. Close-up view of the
66:at the Nile River delta
813:The Figurehead Archive
749:; Major, John (2007).
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410:On smaller vessels, a
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262:The figurehead of the
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840:"Ships' figureheads"
647:"Ship's figureheads"
295:and her sister ship
224:improve this article
1236:Sailboat components
426:Figurehead Hall at
407:of their namesake.
135:Phaung Daw U Pagoda
846:, pp. 776–780
491:Figurehead of the
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397:Type 42 destroyers
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336:John Haley Bellamy
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280:The figurehead of
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468:Figurehead of the
287:. Other than HMS
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1020:Companionway
914:sailing ship
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793:. Retrieved
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679:. Retrieved
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405:coat of arms
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299:Black Prince
298:
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222:Please help
217:verification
214:
181:
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157:royal barges
150:
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137:festival in
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96:evil spirits
88:Viking ships
70:
64:in a battle
33:
31:
25:
1140:Quarterdeck
1030:Daggerboard
1025:Crow's nest
1005:Centreboard
975:Bow or prow
925:Aftercastle
912:Parts of a
828:Figureheads
633:, found in
598:Acrostolium
498: [
494:Seute Deern
428:Marinmuseum
375:World War I
269:, c. 1807.
62:Sea Peoples
1230:Categories
1110:Orlop deck
1045:Forecastle
1040:Figurehead
970:Boom brake
960:Bilgeboard
795:2012-11-14
681:2012-11-14
657:2013-08-16
614:References
566:Cutty Sark
551:sculpture.
529:sculpture.
432:Karlskrona
412:billethead
401:Royal Navy
334:carved by
325:figurehead
77:Phoenician
34:figurehead
1210:Whipstaff
1180:Sternpost
1170:Starboard
1120:Poop deck
1115:Outrigger
930:Afterdeck
583:Gibraltar
516:HMS
386:Imperator
381:Imperator
362:HMS
355:HMS
331:Lancaster
329:USS
297:HMS
282:HMS
1190:Taffrail
1130:Porthole
1100:Leeboard
1075:Jackline
980:Bowsprit
950:Beakhead
721:(1987).
651:Research
592:See also
434:, Sweden
379:SS
370:Espiegle
351:ram bows
168:stemhead
164:galleons
144:karaweik
1205:Transom
1080:Jibboom
1060:Gunwale
1055:Gangway
1015:Cockpit
995:Cathead
990:Capstan
586:in 1896
527:unicorn
518:Unicorn
478:Bristol
399:of the
293:Warrior
284:Warrior
189:clipper
177:Baroque
139:Myanmar
107:Sekhmet
80:galleys
52:History
1195:Tiller
1185:Strake
1150:Rudder
1095:Kelson
1010:Chains
935:Anchor
871:
757:
729:
523:Dundee
418:Images
364:Cadmus
357:Rodney
291:, HMS
289:Rodney
1215:Winch
1050:Frame
985:Cable
965:Bitts
955:Bilge
544:Unión
502:]
455:Brest
430:, in
73:Greek
42:ships
26:Océan
1165:Stem
1160:Skeg
1125:Port
1105:Mast
1085:Keel
1070:Hull
1065:Head
1035:Deck
869:ISBN
755:ISBN
727:ISBN
542:BAP
323:The
266:Aris
75:and
1200:Top
1145:Rib
521:in
476:in
471:SS
453:in
342:in
327:of
226:by
98:.
40:of
38:bow
1232::
842:,
708:^
649:.
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500:de
32:A
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