Ship's Sternboard: Eagle

DatePossibly 1850-1880

MediumPainted wood

DimensionsOverall: 20 x 90 1/2 x 4 1/2in. (50.8 x 229.9 x 11.4cm); Mounting board to which object affixed 11 Dec 2006: 27 x 100in. (68.6 x 254cm)

Credit LineMuseum Purchase

Object number1957.704.1

DescriptionA relief woodcarving of an eagle with its wings spread, its head turned toward the viewer's left. It is a horizontally elongated form, fit within a semi-elliptical shape of wood. The eagle is carved with incised feathers; the original gilded surface was later covered with bronze paint; its head is turned towards the viewer's left. The beak is slightly open. The talons are also visible.
Label TextNautical ornamentation took many forms. Figureheads may be the best known, but elaborately carved and painted sternpieces, taffrails, trail boards, paddlewheel covers, billetheads, catheads, and gangway boards also testify to the visual richness of early vessels.

Through the early eighteenth century, windows and galleries pierced the sterns of ships. Solid planking gradually replaced these, creating large, flat areas particularly suited to relief carving. During the nineteenth century, American sternboards featured eagles more often than any other motif. Like the museum's example, most of these were shown with wings extended, a pose that effectively filled the sternboard's low, wide format.

ProvenanceAs of 9 May 2008, no information regarding the source for this object appears in its file. Perhaps a search of the 1957 museum construction files will reveal some clues, since the object was fitted above the main doorway into the 1957 museum when that structure was built.

Exhibition(s)