The Ship's "Eyes" §

Carved figureheads decorated the prows of sailing ships through the 1880s. The roster of forms included men and women (famous and unknown), animals (birds, horses, boars, lions, swans, dolphins, seahorses), and gods and mythical beings (Neptune, mermaids, dragons). Early mariners believed figureheads were the vessel's eyes.
courtesy of State Street Trust Company, Boston, Massachusetts

More Information

• Maritime Art and History at the Peabody Essex Museum.
• Ship Carver - from Mystic Seaport
• Figureheads and other ornamental ship carvings - a comprehensive bibliography

Ocean Planet Exhibition Floorplan

gene carl feldman (gene@seawifs.gsfc.nasa.gov) (301) 286-9428

Judith Gradwohl, Smithsonian Institution (Curator/Ocean Planet)