Skip to main content
Advanced Search
2009 Record shot by C. Lafiandra. Bust of a man.
Bust of a Man
2009 Record shot by C. Lafiandra. Bust of a man.

Bust of a Man

Date1820-1840
OriginAmerica
MediumWhite pine with paint
DimensionsOH: 22"; OW: 17 1/2"; D: 13"
Credit LineGift of Victoria Shelar in memory of Mrs. Honore Thorne
Object number2009.704.1
DescriptionPortrait bus of a man wearing a blue suit jacket with white shirt and black stock. He has black hair with long sideburns and blue eyes. His blue jacket is adorned with three gold buttons.
Label TextFigureheads represent the most ambitious and distinguished manifestations in the field. The universal custom of attaching a symbolic figure to the bow of a vessel dates back to ancient times - to the Egyptians, Phoenicians, Greeks and Romans. The famous "Winged Victory of Samothrace," dated about 300 B.C.E., represents the goddess as moving forward on the prow of a ship. The figurehead tradition prevailed in America from the beginning of the seventeenth century unil the end of the clipper ship era. Craftsmen, a few trained in Europe, the majority trained in native seacoast shipyards, met the great demand for such decoration with magnificent effigies carved with consummate skill. Many legends have arisen regarding the superstitions of the sea which prompted the choice of subject. Indian chiefs and maids shared honors with British rulers, admirals, lions, unicorns. After the Revolution, English emblems were replaced by the American Eagle, Washington, or portraits of the shipowner's wife or daughter. The War of 1812 introduced naval heroes and statesmen, who vied in popularity with the monumental allegorical figures of man, bird or beast, as well as mythological gods and classical busts. For protection against the elements, the figureheads were painted white, but more frequently were finished in polychrome, thus adding to the unpretentious elegance of what may be called the outstanding contribution in native sculpture.