by Libby Clay
A sternboard from a
frigate originally out of Salem, Massachusetts, came to the Gallery as a
memorial gift of friends of Charles A. Carruth. The frigate, her sailing
days over, had been in dry dock in Mystic, Connecticut, and the sternboard was
all that was salvaged when the ship was destroyed in a devastating fire..
The shipping industry
was one of the mainstays of the economy of the burgeoning American nation,
providing contact with the rest of the world and forming the base for many
personal fortunes. Wooden sailing vessels were constructed in seaboard
cities from Maine to South Carolina. When the shipbuilders had completed a
vessel, the ship carvers took over and added embellishments.
The chief category of
marine decoration was the figurehead, at the front of the ship under the
bowsprit where the sides converge. Visually they were an extension of the
bow and relied on contour and silhouette for their impact. It was a
stirring sight to see them soaring above the rolling seas when propelled by a
swiftly moving prow.
Next in importance after
the figureheads were the sternboards and archboards, which announced the name
and home port of the vessel. The sternboard was a broad, flat surface, most
often decorated with an eagle. It also served as a vehicle for personal
portraits—the owner's wife, daughter, or the owner himself. The MAG
sternboard shows a young, curly-haired girl holding a large shield with the
coat of arms of the Derby family. This sternboard graced the sterns of
two frigates: the Derby vessel and the ship Angela. American ship carvers probably learned their craft through
practical experience, with the work of English craftsmen serving as their first
models. Whereas European carvings tended to be of oak or other hard
woods, Americans preferred the soft native pine. Pine was more easily worked
and was more suited to the American carver's inclination to model surfaces in
broad planes, paying less attention to elaborate detail than to the large sweep
of the silhouette. A skillful carver was his own best advertising, for
his work was seen in the harbors of the world.
Each ship required a
different kind of carved decoration, designed to suit the individual taste of
the owner and adapted to the basic structure and function of the ship A Whaler,
for instance was built for utility and was relatively small, deep and strong.
The figureheads were likewise small and plain. Clipper ships, built for
speed, were long and slender. Their figureheads, designed to be
extensions of the prow, were often women with hair thrown back and hair flying
in the wind—the most glamorous of American ship carvings. .
Military vessels were
lavishly decorated, for they represented American naval power. Eagles and
patriotic motifs were commonly used, including representations of American
presidents.
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