Hey everyone and welcome back! As you may have guessed, I have another super fun day that just happens to be this month on June 8th: World Ocean’s Day! What better time to segue into something I’ve always wanted to dive into and that is ship figureheads! Carved voluptuous ladies, dragons, and otherworldly beings on large ships traversing the ocean has always felt mystical, and although I may be a sucker for romanticizing pirates and ancient naval battles, ships with figureheads have always been a fascination of mine.
Figureheads were common in most seafaring civilizations, with some dating back to 3000BC found in Egypt where images of birds were used to provide protection. Phoenicians would use the figure of horses to symbolize swiftness, whereas Greeks and Romans would often use wild boars for ferocity. The main purpose of these decorations was to embody the ship’s spirit and act as the eyes to safely navigate the way back home.
Alternatively in northern Europe, the figurehead may have also acted as the sole woman on a ship as women weren’t allowed to sail. Often the figure heads were portraits of someone in the ship owner’s family, the ship owner, a historical figure, or someone important from contemporary society. During the 1700’s in Europe there was a dip in ship ornamentation due to the Royal Navy’s crackdown on it, only to be revived during the mid-1800’s.
Originally, figureheads were carved from elm or oak, but as time went on there was a transition into the use of yellow pine as it was lighter weight and wouldn’t affect a ship’s integrity nearly as much. During this time, there was also a shift in the imagery used. Ship owners now used figureheads that were more closely related to the purpose of the ship but were also more likely to depict famous figures. Examples of this would include a figure head of Florence Nightingale, a visionary health reformer, made by Hooper & Co., and of Elizabeth Fry, a Quaker woman known for being the driving force of legislation that would be used to ensure better treatment of prisoners.
Nowadays, ornate carved figureheads are seen less and less on modern sailing vessels, although a fun fact: The world’s newest, biggest, fanciest superyacht owned by Jeff Bezos is rumored to have a figurehead resembling his fiancé, Lauren Sanchez!
I’m not saying it would be cool to have a figurehead come through the doors here at Bruneau & Co – I’m saying it would be REALLY cool! As the weather gets warmer be sure to enjoy the ocean, keep it clean, and if you have a boat consider a figurehead!
