Ship's Figureheads

Publisher: Shire Publications, 1990 £ 2.25

First published in 1983 and updated in the 90's this slim volume gives an excellent vignette of an unusual but thoroughly nautical subject. Figureheads appear to have almost died out on British sailing ships but the tradition of wooden carving, not essentially at the stem, is still common in continental Europe and, in particular, the Netherlands.

Concentrating on the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries for the very practical reason that most existing figureheads survive from that period, the book takes you up to that flowering from early days in the Viking period, the first figureheads as we know them in thesixteenth century, and finishes with a brief canter around the few modern examples of the art. It touches on mainly restored Royal Naval figureheads and includes a list of museums and a list of further reading. It would benefit from an update and the addition of continental Navies. For example, although it briefly mentions the Vasa, it does not describe the magnificent museum and thorough restoration that has been lavished on the Ship and its carvings in Stockholm.

It will come as a surprise to many that not even most figureheads celebrate the female form, but cover the whole gamut of nautical society; from Kings and other patriotic symbols, to the not so humble collier owners' own likeness; from Jack Tar to Nelson and from mythological creatures to Warriors in full Highland dress. The subjects were legion and mainly carved by sailors and amateurs. A useful read for anyone interested in Nautical Art or Naval history. - RDG

Page prepared 17 May 1999