Collections

Go Figure! (-Lady Edmont)

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Figurehead of Lady Edmonton.
Figurehead of Lady Edmonton.

Hey there! This weeks post for “Go Figure!” features a beautifully carved woman in ornate clothing, named Lady Edmonton. I like this one because of the wood’s detail and the colors used in her clothing. She has swept back hair, strong eyes and blushed cheeks. She is wearing an ornate necklace and a gold crown paired with a blue cape which has delicate gold details. Even though there has been heavy research conducted on Lady Edmonton, we finally concluded that she is in fact.. not a real person. It was decided that she was created to symbolize the barkEdmonton.

As I was researching in our records, I came across several other figureheads what were strikingly similar to Lady Edmonton. To make matters confusing, I came across a Lady Edinburgh who was VERY similar, and their names just threw me off even more. However, through careful reading I figured out that this style of women is very typical of the work done by carvers.Read more

Collections

Go Figure! (-King Neptune)

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Neptune Figurehead in gallery.
Neptune Figurehead in gallery.

Hey everyone! This week I decided that we should take a break from the all the female figureheads and look at one of our males. King Neptune, god of the sea according to Roman mythology. While the mythological god has a lot of background, we do not know the exact origin of our figurehead. For this post, I want to talk about Neptune in mythology and give you all some more information on our figurehead.

In Roman mythology, King Neptune was the god of fresh water, which is something that I found interesting. It was not until 400 B.C. when he started to become identified with King Poseidon of Greek mythology, thus taking on the role God of the Sea. Typically he is depicted holding a trident, a common weapon used by fishermen and sailors on the Mediterranean. His wife, Salacia, was the goddess of spring water and was also associated with Poseidon’s wife, Amphitrite. In regards to Roman mythology, Neptune played a relatively minor role in mythology (Poseidon had a much greater influence in Greek mythology). Legend states that Neptune and his brothers, Jupiter and Pluto (Zeus and Hades in Greek mythology) split up the heavens into three realms and ruled them separately. In the Greek myth it was said that their father, Cronus, had swallowed him after his birth and Jupiter (Zeus) rescued him. In addition to being god of the sea, Neptune was also worshiped as god of the horses and was also referred to as Neptune Equester. With this title he was the patron of horse racing, which I personally find odd since he is more commonly associated with water and the two do not really go hand-in-hand.Read more

Collections

Go Figure! (-Mermaid Follow Up)

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Second Mermaid Figurehead
Second Mermaid Figurehead

This post will be devoted to the second mermaid in our collection! This figurehead is a gilt mermaid with a greenish bronze tail and long flowing brown hair. I particularly like this mermaid because she was carved into the into the trail-boards of the the bow, something fairly abnormal for most other figureheads. As mentioned last post, the second half of the “Go Figure!” series will look at the darker side of mermaids, even though this mermaid does not appear to be scary or mean. I chose this mermaid to do this side of the creatures because the fin-like detail towards the end of her tail, give off a less human side than the other one did and show a more ‘evil’ aspect of mermaids.

The darker side of mermaids is the side that I have heard more tales about, and personally find it to be more interesting. I like that these women are seen as objects of beauty, but they have a dark twist. The most common of mermaid folklore says that these sea nymphs sing entrancing songs and use their beauty to lure sailors out to sea.Read more

Collections

Go Figure!

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“A Mermaid” by John William Waterhouse, 1901.

For this post in “Go Figure!” I wanted to look at the two mermaids we have in our collection. For centuries myth and legends of mermaids have been told around the world, so I want to take this chance to share some stories and let you all know about the two ladies we have here in our collection.

The myth and folklore of mermaids have been around since 1000 B.C.E. While their whereabouts and intentions have differed through the years, this week I want to focus on the kinder and more gentle side of mermaids, since I think this particular figurehead has a sweet composure. For the next post, I will discus our other figurehead, and while she does not look the least bit frightening, I still think she is up to something.Read more

Collections

Go Figure!

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Irish Queen

Hey all! This is the first post of a new series that I thought would be interesting, “Go Figure!” This will be a collection of various figureheads from our collection that are not on display at this time. Our first figurehead is called the Irish Queen, and is the torso of a woman with ornate details.

This particular figurehead has an interesting and mysterious past, and her origins are still being tracked down. Given the name Irish Queen because the detail on her belt resembles clovers, it is still unknown if she is in fact from Ireland (some say it represents Wales). There are currently three possibilities of who this woman is and/or what she represents 1) it’s personification of Ireland, 2) the pirate queen Grainne O’Malley, or 3) none of the above (i.e. no idea). What we do know is that who ever had created her, paid close attention to detail.Read more