I settled on the scale of 1/4-inch equals
1 foot, or 1:48 life size. This is the standard scale for many of the official "dockyard" models, m any of which are preserved to this day. This scale allows much fine detail on the surviving figures to be replicated in miniature, yet the whole collection can be displayed in a small area and readily grasped by the viewer as an organic whole. For this collection, I use boxwood (Buxus simpervirens), as I do for all miniature carvings. This is the green clipped hedge plant often seen along pathways. When it grows wild, it reaches up to twelve inches in diameter. This wood has a light-to-dark tawny yellow color, which is most pleasing to the eye and can rake almost microscopic derail. Some of today's model makers are using what is known as "Cas telli boxwood" (Calycophylum multiflorum), but this is nor a true boxwood and does not work for fine derail. For the stem and bases, I use apple heartwood. It has a dark, reddishbrown color and makes a nice supporting contrast to the carved figure. I did nor want this part of the structure to compete with the carvings. The collection is further unified by being the product of a single artist, working in a distinctive style and technique, yet respecting the appearance and workn1anship of the originals. Where the original figure has survived, such as the Jacksons and Franklins, I replicate what the ship carver did, while presenting it in my own style. A tremendous amount of research is required for any artist attempting to recreate a scene or subject from history with any degree of accuracy. For this proj ect, the quality and extent of information available for these specific figures varies greatly. In the best-case scenario, the actual figurehead survives, typically in a museum . H ere, it is simply a matter of measuring and photographing each piece. In other cases, ships' plans can be extremely helpful. In addition to drafts, any US naval vessel that was unfortunate enough to have been made a prize by the British would have its lines documented and saved in Admiralty records. Written descriptions by eyewitnesses to a launching-or even the occasional acerbic criticism of a new figure on a ship-provide supplementary information. Another source are the many SEA HISTORY 139, SUMMER 2012
USS Constitution as she Looks today. The scrollwork at the bow is representative of the style used for the 1812-era billet.
paintings, drawings, and woodcuts made of these ships, but one must have a discerning eye, as their accuracy and authenticity varies widely. Some artists, such as the Roux family of Marseilles, were noted for thei r scrupulous accuracy; they were, after all, paid to sketch and paint ships with precision. Other paintings, however, are all too often fanciful patriotic scribbles mrned out for public consumption-especially paintings of battle scenes. I have take n to studying other surviving examples by the original carvers. Even if other figureheads by the same carvers migh t not have survived, more often there are allegorical, religious, Masonic, and decorative carvings still extant. Take the famous sculptor William Rush (1756-1833) , for example. He began his career as a ship carver, having carved four of the original six frigates' figureheads. While these have not survived , there are almost a dozen surviving full-size figures he created for various architecm ral applications. These figures show how he handled drapery, hands, poses, and costuming. I can rake certain aspects of these carvings and apply his manner of working to a figure of which we have a description, but no surviving example. With the preliminary scholarship completed, let's move on to the actual process of carving the figures and scroll work of "Old Ironsides," from her original carvings of 1797 to today.
Original Figurehead: Hercules USS Constitution's original figurehead was destroyed in 1804 when the ship co llided
with her sister ship USS President at sea. As part of the repairs to the damaged bow, the crew replaced the figurehead with a simple curved billerhead. Without the actual carving for a reference, I used a full-si ze copy of the original ship's plans drawn up by Josiah Fox in 1795. At the stem, Fox drew in an outline showing what is known as the "space for the figure." A standard delineation used on ship plans from this period, it served to define the area to be used for the carving, and placed limits on how far it could extend in any direction. Exceptions were made for appendages, such as arms and accoutrements, such as spears, but the main figure was confined to this space. Constitution was originally fitted with a large figure representing Hercules, designed by William Rush and carved by John Skillen of Boston. Rush's design included the following instructions: As the Consrimtion of the Empire is the result of the Union of the States and united begets Strength it aught to be represented by an Herculean figure standing on the firm rock of Independence resting one hand on the fasces, which was bound by the Genius of America and the other hand presenting a scroll of paper, supposed to be the Constitution of America with proper appendages, the found ation of Legislation. Dr. William Bentley, the minister and scholar whose voluminous diaries chronicled the daily life of Salem, Massachusetts , in this nation's formative years, went down to see the new ship and wrote: saw the new ship ... the Head called Constitution, finished by Skillings [sic). Ir is an Hercules with the fasces of the United States & the Constitution standing upon a rock & his battoon lying beneath him. Michele Felice Corne (1 752- 1845) painted several works of USS Constitution in action during the War of 1812, bur one of his earlier depictions from 1803 clearly shows the Hercules figure at the bow. I sketched in a figure on a copy of the draft, based on what Corne painted and
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