Colonial America
18th Century Naval Ship's Cathead Portrait of an English King or Possibly an Apostle Hand-Carved Oak Wooden Figurehead Design Model Standing Upon a Scrolled Base
c. 1780 18th Century Colonial to Federal Era, British Naval Ship's Hand-Carved Oak Wooden "British Lion" design Ship's Figurehead / Cathead Model, Choice Extremely Fine.
This choice quality Hand-Carved Ship's figurehead model of original museum quality. Its oak surfaces have a nice rich original patina to the stained wood with only very slight handling. Its carved details of the face and hair is sharp with impressive eye appeal. It has slight flatness to his nose and chin, apparently as made, as the natural original stain color is perfectly consistent overall as seen in our images. This figurehead model appears to be of a known historical figure to the carver, likely the portrait is that of an English King or possibly an Apostle, thus meant to protect the ship and its crew from harm. It was carved by a figurehead master carver which was done before carving the large scale version for a ship. These models are very rare. This figurehead model can be mounted on a wall or can be placed upright on a flat surface for display having a mounting hole on the reverse and traces of prior use for that purpose.
This authentic Hand-Carved Oak Ship's "Figurehead" or "Cathead" model measures about 13.2" tall x 2.9" wide x 2.4" deep. It appears to have been carved from natural oak, no date or place as usual, possibly of the late Colonial to Federal period in age. This carving could be either English or American. The iconography as used on ships in England was detailed by the National Maritime Museum in Greenwich, England. The reverse is flat, meant for attachment to a wooden beam as would the full size decorative figurehead when completed. As a model it is whole and complete, stained an attractive rich brown in color, the carved Man's head very distinct and clear in detail. Examples we have reviewed offered by "Folk Art" or Antiques and Nautical specialists, have shown examples of various sizes and designs, most having been refinished. Unlike this more authentic Figurehead Model or possible Cathead, they are offered for mid-four to low-five figures. The last example we offered was August 21, 2021, Lot 85, "British Lion" design Cathead, Used, Very Fine which sold for $3,900. Our estimate range should appear reasonably attractive to collectors.
Figureheads are the carved wooden sculptures that decorate the prows of sailing ships. In the perilous life of an ocean-going ship, figureheads embodied the spirit of the vessel, offering the crew protection from harsh seas and safeguarding their homeward journeys.
As such, they were often lovingly cared for by the crew. The superstitions of seamen meant that the figurehead held great significance to those on board and they would go to great lengths to protect it.
Figureheads were often female but not exclusively so. A female may have been popular because the ship itself is always referred to as a 'she'. As women were often not allowed on board, the figurehead itself might also represent the sole female on the ship.
Elm or oak was used for figureheads up to the 18th century, but after this time alternative woods were used as the heavy, hard woods were found to impact on the seaworthiness of the vessels. Yellow pine was a popular choice of material " in essence the carver needed light and durable woods, but it needed to be timber that was least prone to rotting given the constant exposure to water.
A solid block of wood was chosen, or if a very large figure, then several large pieces of timber would be dowelled and glued together. A sketch of the figurehead may be made by the carver or the shipbuilder, but the exact design would be dictated by the size of the ship and the rake of the bow. Chisels, mallets, gouges and sandpaper would be used and the eventual cost of the work depended on amount of labour involved " some figureheads could take weeks, some months.
A "Cathead" is a large wooden beam located on either side of the bow of a Sailing ship, and angled forward at roughly 45 degrees. The beam is used to support the ship's anchor when raising it (weighing anchor) or lowering it (letting go), and for carrying the anchor on its stock-end when suspended outside the ship's side.
The cathead is furnished with sheaves (a single or multiple pulley) at the outer end, and the inner end (which is called the cat's-tail) fits down on the cat-beam. The shank painter is a short rope or chain by which the shank of an anchor is held fast to a ship's side when not in use. The process of securing the anchor is called catting and fishing it. The cat stopper also fastens the anchor on.
The purpose of the cathead is to provide both a heavy enough beam to support the weight of the anchor, and to hold the metal anchor away from the wooden side of the ship to prevent damage when the anchor is being raised from the water. The later "stockless" anchor made the use of a cathead obsolete.
SEE References:
"Cathead." Wikipedia. 15 November 2018. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cathead (23 January 2019).
Craig, James A. "New Discoveries Concerning the Bold Art of John Haley Bellamy." Antiques & Fine Art. Autumn 2014: https://www.incollect.com/articles/new-discoveries-concerning-the-bold-art-of-john-haley-bellamy_1 (23 January 2019).
National Maritime Museum: http://www.rmg.co.uk/researchers/collections/by-type/figureheads (2017).