Smyrna times. [volume] (Smyrna, Del.) 1854-1987, 1938-07-07
FIGURES ADORN
NEW VESSELS
Fantastic Figureheads, An
Gent Form of Decoration
Coming Into Fashion
REVIVING OLD CUSTOM

Washington, D. Care ships fig
ureheads coming back into fashion?
A Norwegian line, plying between
oslo and Antwerp, has lately re.
/ Vlved this ancient form of decora-
ton for two of its new ships. One
the Bretagne, or Brittany, car.
rles at her bow the majestic figure
OF a barefoot lady in Swing skirt, "
personifying the French province
OF the same name. The other, the
Bayard, bears an armored chev-
alIer on whose unfurled standard
appear the words Sans Peur ct
Sans Reproche."
To brighten their enemies, pro-
pitiate their gods, or merely to beau
tlfy the ships they loved, sailors
through the ages have set fantas-
tic, heroic, and sometimes comic
creations at the prows of sea-roving
craft, says the National Geograph.
ic society.
Subjects ranged all the way
from crude native deities and drag
ons to plump Victorian maids and
knights on horseback. One of the
simplest decorations was that used
by early Egyptians and Chinese
who painted two eyes on the stem
Of their boats. Many elaborate
wood carvings and bronze castings
later bore witness to painstaking
craftsmanship Of experts trained
for decades in the art. One famous
English family. the Hellyers, carved
ships fgureheads for 200 years. An
other great name in the business was
that Of Grinling Gibbons, employed
by Charles II, and one-time assist
ant to Sir Christopher Wren.
Some Early Types.
"Curving out from the hull, high
above the sea, both bow and stern
Of primitive craft offered a conspic-
uous and natural point for the first
forms Of ship adornment. Carved
Viking long ships and Siamese
snake boats. built like dragons, are
examples of the earliest type.
'As the shape Of vessels changed. H
a separate fgurehead in wood or
other materials often took the place
Of simple decoration Of the stem /
Itself. Gradually typical fgureheads i
on ships Of various nations began
p appear. On the prov of Phoeni-
clans boats was often displayed the
1orse's head. symbol of speed. The
Romans followed the lion and croco-
lie that once represented tutelary
leities Of mountain and river, with
ousts Of their distinguished war
'iors. In the Seventeenth and Eight
'enth centuries English and Dutch
eatured their national emblems Of
he lion. while Spaniards liked their
raft headed BY the figures Of their
avorite saints.
AN era Of expanding merchant ;
hipping, the Eighteenth and Nine
eenth centuries were prolific ones
or America fgureheads. At the
rows Of Yankee clippers, frigates !
nd brigantines Of war, heroic-sized :
emales in flowing robes, naval
eroes in uniform and famous
statesmen in ordinary
treet clothes plowed through walls
spray along with conventional
nages Of Neptune with his trident
nd classical goddesses Of the sea.
Elaborate and UnwieIdy.
mo country, however, main
lined more interest in ships fig
than the England Of
ueen Elizabeth onward. SO eIab-
rate and unWieldy was some of g
lis decoration that in the words of
r Walter Raleigh, The ocean fair Y
groaned from their weight An
<ample was that of the British o
1vereign Of the Seas, with a mass :
carving on her prov representing
ing Edgar mounted on horseback I
I'd trampling on six subject kings, :
Id beyond it a figure Of Cupid rid Q
g lion.
Eventually, British craftsmen
,veloped their art to include carv- D.
gs Of characters from Shakes
9are and Scott, the Knights of the
ound Table, American Indians,
linese mandarins. witches and St
'blins. They came to represent
It only imagining characters y
It actual persons from public life
i'd members of shipowners' fam
es.
From time to time the use of OF
e figurehead was banished or lin
ID. In 1785 France suppressed
CHI decoration for state shipping. "a
n years later the British admiral
ordered elaborate ornamentation
ships discontinued.
But the habit died hard. Up to
: end of sail, superstitious men of