"Eagle with Rope in Beak," late nineteenth centwy stern ornament from unidentified vessel. Collection of The Mariners' Museum.
strength of his enem ies. Willem the Younger's pencil drawing Hull of the Montagu (ca. 1660) is a telling example of shipcarving. It may be compared with an engraving by Charles Tompkins after another of Yan de Yelde 's designs, in this case an illustration of a Dutch second-rate warship dating from 1670. Both show the prevailingmotifs, including allegorical symbols, heraldic emblems and floral des igns. In each case the lion, an enduring symbol of monarchical power, plays a central role. The Yan de Yeldes' drawings and paintings are among the best ev idence of shipcarvi ng from the 1600s Englishfigureheadfrom HMS Edinburgh. ca. 1811. Collection of The Marin ers ' Museum.
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and 1700s. Most extant figureheads and other nautical carvings date from the last century. A notable exception is Vasa, an ornately decorated Swedish warship that sank on its maiden voyage in 1628. It was raised in 1961 and conserved over a 25-year period. Vasa carried a figurehead of a lion . British Admiralty Restrictions By the early 1700s, the cost of shipcarving could exceed thirty percent of the cost of a naval vessel. European admiralties began curtai ling the amo unt and complexity of carving. In England,James II stipulated the first restrictions in 1686, though they were largely ignored. A few years later, the maximum amount allotted to sh ip decoration was £500; by 1703, the British Admiralty limited carving to "only a lion and trail board for the head ." An attempt to ban shipcarv ing altogether in 1796 met with res istance. Thus, the 74-gun third- rate warship HMS Duke of Edinburgh, built in 1811, carried a large figurehead representing William Frederick, who had a few years before succeeded his fat her as Duke of Edinburgh. At this time, the Admiralty allowed but £21 for a third-rate vessel. HMS Formidable had as a figurehead the Roman god Mars. It also cost £2 1, about .03 percent of the total construction cost (£64,342). Although the amount spent on the figureheads of these nineteenth-century military vessels was minuscule, their continued use demonstrates the Admiralty's recognition that figures with national and martial associations promoted harm011y, pride arid a sense of purpose among the men who served aboard. For example, when part of the figurehead aboard Brunswick was shot away during an engagement with Vengeur during the battle of the Glori-
ous First of June in 1794, the ship 's carpenter nailed one of Captain Harvey 's hats onto it to conceal the damage. Developments in the United States Following the European tradition , early US wa rsh ips were fitted with fi g ureheads representing hi storical and mythological figures , political leaders or animals. USS Constitution's first figurehead, carved by Samuel Skillin, represented He rcules. Its second figurehead, a depiction of President Andrew Jackson, was also typical-though, at the time, English figurehead of Mars from HMS Formidable, ca . 1822-25. Collection of Th e Mariners ' Mus eum.
SEA HISTORY 8 1, SPRING/SUMMER 1997