Figurehead | History, Meaning & Symbolism

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mx-10" href="https://www.britannica.com/art/figurehead/images-videos">Images</a> <div class="slider js-slider position-relative d-inline-flex align-items-center mw-100 "> <div class="slider-container js-slider-container overflow-hidden d-flex overflow-hidden text-nowrap ml-15"> <a href="https://cdn.britannica.com/77/577-050-D0D99030/Figurehead-ship-ad-Oseberg-Viking-Oslo-Museum.jpg" data-href="/media/1/206664/5472" class="media-overlay-link d-inline-block mr-5"> <img loading="lazy" src="https://cdn.britannica.com/77/577-004-A2248FDE/Figurehead-ship-ad-Oseberg-Viking-Oslo-Museum.jpg" alt="Viking figurehead" height="50" /> </a> <a href="https://cdn.britannica.com/05/70105-004-524D1837/pieces-whale-whaleboat-crews-ship-oil-try-pots.jpg" data-href="/media/1/206664/60415" class="media-overlay-link d-inline-block mr-5"> <img loading="lazy" src="https://cdn.britannica.com/05/70105-004-524D1837/pieces-whale-whaleboat-crews-ship-oil-try-pots.jpg" alt="After being killed by whaleboat crews, the 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Antlers." width="200" height="200" /> </a> </div> <div class="card-body ilf-content"> <a class="font-weight-semi-bold d-block mb-5 font-16 ilf-title" href="/list/9-of-the-worlds-deadliest-mammals" >9 of the World鈥檚 Deadliest Mammals</a> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> <button class="drawerToggle btn position-sticky border btn-xs btn-white btn-circle rounded-sm d-none d-lg-flex " type="button" aria-label="Toggle Drawer"> <em class="material-icons font-18 text-blue" data-icon="keyboard_arrow_left"></em> </button> </div> </div> <div class="col"> <div class="h-100 ml-0 pr-lg-0 "> <div class="h-100 grid gx-0 gx-lg-20"> <div class="h-100 col-sm"> <div class="h-100 infinite-pagination-container d-flex flex-column position-relative"> <div class="position-absolute top-0 h-100 w-100"> <div class="toc-sticky-header d-none d-lg-none bg-gray-50 px-10 px-sm-30 position-sticky w-100 "> <div class="toc-sticky-header-inner-container align-items-center d-flex mx-auto h-100 w-100"> <button class="d-flex d-lg-none btn btn-sm btn-white text-blue border-2 border-gray-100 gtm-mobile-toc-header-button js-sections-button d-lg-none p-10"> <em class="material-icons my-n5 md-icon" data-icon="toc"></em> Contents </button> <div class="header-ai-ask-button-placeholder"></div> <div class="header-ai-summarize-button-placeholder"></div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="grey-box w-100 grey-box-top grey-box-bottom"> <div class="grey-box-content mx-auto w-100"> <script type="application/ld+json"> { "@context" : "https://schema.org", "@type" : "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement" : [ { "@type" : "ListItem", "position" : 1, "item" : { "@id" : "https://www.britannica.com/browse/Visual-Arts", "name": "Visual Arts" } } , { "@type" : "ListItem", "position" : 2, "item" : { "@id" : "https://www.britannica.com/browse/Sculpture", "name": "Sculpture" } } ] } </script> <nav class="breadcrumb mt-20"> <span class="breadcrumb-item "> <a class="link-gray-600" href="/browse/Visual-Arts">Visual Arts</a> </span> <span class="breadcrumb-item "> <a class="link-gray-600" href="/browse/Sculpture">Sculpture</a> </span> </nav> <div class="page2ref-true topic-content topic-type-REGULAR" data-student-article="false"> <script class="page-description-json" type="application/json"> { "url": "/art/figurehead", "shareUrl": "https://www.britannica.com/art/figurehead", "browserTitle": "Figurehead | History, Meaning & Symbolism", "firstTopicPage": true, "topicId":206664 } </script> <div class="reading-channel"> <div class="desktop-header-image module-spacing"> <figure class="md-assembly m-0 mb-20 mb-md-0 card card-borderless print-false" data-assembly-id="13684" data-asm-type="image"> <div class="md-assembly-wrapper card-media " data-type="image"> <a style="min-height: 160px;" href="https://cdn.britannica.com/77/577-050-D0D99030/Figurehead-ship-ad-Oseberg-Viking-Oslo-Museum.jpg" class="gtm-assembly-link position-relative d-flex align-items-center justify-content-center media-overlay-link card-media" data-href="/media/1/206664/5472"> <picture> <source media="(min-width: 680px)" srcset="https://cdn.britannica.com/77/577-050-D0D99030/Figurehead-ship-ad-Oseberg-Viking-Oslo-Museum.jpg?w=300"> <img src="https://cdn.britannica.com/77/577-050-D0D99030/Figurehead-ship-ad-Oseberg-Viking-Oslo-Museum.jpg?w=400&h=300&c=crop" alt="Viking figurehead" loading="eager" /> </picture> <button class="magnifying-glass btn btn-circle position-absolute shadow btn-white top-10 right-10" aria-label="Zoom in"> <em class="material-icons link-blue" data-icon="zoom_in"></em> </button> </a> </div> <figcaption class="card-body"> <div class="md-assembly-caption text-muted font-14 font-serif line-clamp"> <span> <a class="gtm-assembly-link md-assembly-title font-weight-bold d-inline font-sans-serif mr-5 media-overlay-link" href="https://cdn.britannica.com/77/577-050-D0D99030/Figurehead-ship-ad-Oseberg-Viking-Oslo-Museum.jpg" data-href="/media/1/206664/5472">Viking figurehead</a> <span><span>Figurehead from the Oseberg ship, about 800 <span class="text-smallcaps">ce</span>; 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A figurehead could be a religious symbol, a national <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off eb" data-term="emblem" href="https://www.britannica.com/dictionary/emblem" data-type="EB">emblem</a>, or a figure symbolizing the ship鈥檚 name.</p><span class="marker MOD1 mod-inline"></span><span class="marker PREMOD2 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">The custom of decorating a vessel probably began in ancient Egypt or India, where an eye was painted on either side of the prow, presumably in the belief that the eyes would help a vessel find its way safely over the water. The custom was followed by the Chinese (who painted eyes on their river junks), the <span id="ref28551"></span><a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Phoenicia" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Phoenicians</a>, the Greeks, and the Romans.</p><span class="marker MOD2 mod-inline"></span><span class="marker PREMOD3 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">The ships of the <span id="ref28550"></span><a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/ancient-Egypt" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">ancient</a> Egyptians, Phoenicians, <span id="ref28552"></span><a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/ancient-Greece" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true"></a>Greeks, and early <span id="ref28553"></span><a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/ancient-Rome" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true"></a>Romans were constructed with heavy vertical timbers at the bow and stern to which the side planking was attached. These stemposts and sternposts <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off eb" data-term="protruded" href="https://www.britannica.com/dictionary/protruded" data-type="EB">protruded</a> well above the hull, and their prominent and semierect position and form created a focal point of interest and a shape obviously suited for decoration. As early as 1000 <span class="text-smallcaps">bc</span>, the stem- and sternposts were carved and painted to distinguish one ship from another, and at least one class of vessel used an identifying symbol: a falcon or a falcon鈥檚 eye generally appeared on the bows of Egyptian funeral barges of the <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Nile-River" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">Nile River</a>. Although the oculi were the most popular symbols used by early sailors, some figureheads were fashioned for the purpose of terrorizing less-civilized tribes. The Egyptians probably originated the practice of using religious symbols; other Mediterranean peoples extended this practice by using carvings and paintings of their principal <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off eb" data-term="deity" href="https://www.britannica.com/dictionary/deity" data-type="EB">deity</a> to identify the vessel with its city-state. The Carthaginians, for example, often used a carving of Amon, the Athenians a statue of Athena. When the prow was developed as a weapon for ramming and piercing an enemy vessel, the stem lost its prominence and the so-called <a href="https://www.britannica.com/technology/ram-warship-part" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">ram</a> was decorated instead. One Athenian vessel of about 500 <span class="text-smallcaps">bc</span> had the entire ram carved in the shape of a boar鈥檚 head. The use of the prow as a <a href="https://www.britannica.com/technology/battering-ram" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">battering ram</a> necessarily lowered the prominent bow features of the ship, and so greater emphasis was instead placed on decorating the stern. This <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off eb" data-term="trend" href="https://www.britannica.com/dictionary/trend" data-type="EB">trend</a> was carried to an extreme by the Romans at the height of their naval power, when their ships were distinguished by a very high sternpost carved to sweep up and around in graceful curves terminating, for example, in the gilded head of a swan.</p><div class="module-spacing"> </div><span class="marker MOD3 mod-inline"></span><span class="marker PREMOD4 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">Along the more blustery northwest coast of Europe, skilled sailors such as the <span id="ref28554"></span><a href="https://www.britannica.com/technology/longship" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true"></a>Vikings continued to build their ships with high bows and a projecting stem. The figurehead of the <span id="ref28555"></span><a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Oseberg-ship" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Oseberg ship</a> of about <span class="text-smallcaps">ad</span> 800 is a menacing dragon with head upreared. The ships of William I the Conqueror in the <span id="ref28556"></span><a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Bayeux-Tapestry" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Bayeux Tapestry</a> are similar to those of his Norse ancestors, but in general the decorative symbols reflect the spread of the Christian church.</p><div class="one-good-fact-module"> </div><span class="marker MOD4 mod-inline"></span><span class="marker PREMOD5 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">In the 13th and 14th centuries, a boarding platform was attached forward and projected out over the stem. With this type of construction, the figurehead practically disappeared. Gradually the boarding platform was moved back until it formed the forecastle; when the <span id="ref28557"></span>beakhead was added in the 16th century, it became the natural place for a figurehead. Gradually the beakhead was reduced in size and moved back under the bowsprit until just the figurehead remained. During this period, the fashions in figureheads varied from carvings of saints to national <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off eb" data-term="emblems" href="https://www.britannica.com/dictionary/emblems" data-type="EB">emblems</a>, such as the lion and the <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/unicorn" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">unicorn</a>, to a simple scroll and a billethead, and finally to a carved representation of the person for whom the vessel was named or of a female relative. Historically, figureheads have varied in size from 18 inches (45 cm) for small heads and busts to 8 or 9 feet (2.4 or 2.7 m) for full-length figures. They remained popular until after <a href="https://www.britannica.com/event/World-War-I" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">World War I</a>, when they were discontinued on most ships.</p><span class="marker MOD5 mod-inline"></span></section> <span class="marker end-of-content"></span><span class="marker after-article"></span></div> <div id="chatbot-root"></div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="ai-dialog-placeholder"></div> </div> </div> <aside class="col-md-da-320"></aside> </div> </div> </div> </div> </article></div> </div></div> </div> </main> <div id="md-footer"></div> <noscript><iframe src="//www.googletagmanager.com/ns.html?id=GTM-5W6NC8" height="0" width="0" style="display:none;visibility:hidden"></iframe></noscript> <script type="text/javascript" id="_informizely_script_tag"> var IzWidget = IzWidget || {}; (function (d) { var scriptElement = d.createElement('script'); scriptElement.type = 'text/javascript'; scriptElement.async = true; scriptElement.src = "https://insitez.blob.core.windows.net/site/f780f33e-a610-4ac2-af81-3eb184037547.js"; var node = d.getElementById('_informizely_script_tag'); node.parentNode.insertBefore(scriptElement, node); } )(document); </script>  <script> window.ap3c = window.ap3c || {}; var ap3c = window.ap3c; ap3c.cmd = ap3c.cmd || []; ap3c.cmd.push(function() { ap3c.init('ZO4siT4cLwnykPnzZWJtd3Byb2Q', 'https://engage.email.britannica.com/'); ap3c.track({v: 0}); }); ap3c.activity = function(act) { ap3c.act = (ap3c.act || []); ap3c.act.push(act); }; var s, t; s = document.createElement('script'); s.type = 'text/javascript'; s.src = "https://engage.email.britannica.com/app.js"; t = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; t.parentNode.insertBefore(s, t); </script> <script class="marketing-page-info" type="application/json"> {"pageType":"Topic","templateName":"DESKTOP","pageNumber":1,"pagesTotal":1,"pageId":206664,"pageLength":639,"initialLoad":true,"lastPageOfScroll":false} </script> <script class="marketing-content-info" type="application/json"> [] </script> <script src="https://cdn.britannica.com/mendel-resources/3-130/js/libs/jquery-3.5.0.min.js?v=3.130.14"></script> <script type="text/javascript" data-type="Init Mendel Code Splitting"> (function() { $.ajax({ dataType: 'script', cache: true, url: 'https://cdn.britannica.com/mendel-resources/3-130/dist/topic-page.js?v=3.130.14' }); })(); </script> <script class="analytics-metadata" type="application/json"> {"leg":"D","adLeg":"D","userType":"ANONYMOUS","pageType":"Topic","pageSubtype":null,"articleTemplateType":"MEDIUM","gisted":false,"pageNumber":1,"hasSummarizeButton":false,"hasAskButton":false} </script> <script type="text/javascript"> EBStat={accountId:-1,hostnameOverride:'webstats.eb.com',domain:'www.britannica.com', json:''}; </script> <script type="text/javascript"> ( function() { $.ajax( { dataType: 'script', cache: true, url: '//www.britannica.com/webstats/mendelstats.js?v=1' } ) .done( function() { try {writeStat(null,EBStat);} catch(err){} } ); })(); </script> <div id="bc-fixed-dialogue"></div> </body> </html>

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Figurehead | History, Meaning & Symbolism | Britannica