Figurehead representing a crowned lion

Crowned Lion, workshops of the Maritime Museum of Barcelona, 1939

Llegir més

Num. inventory: 1685

Object name: reproduction of a figurehead

Title: Crowned Lion

Object date: 1939

Author: workshops of the Maritime Museum of Barcelona

Technique and material: polychrome woodcarving

Figureheads and sculptures

Polychrome woodcarving made in the workshops of the Barcelona Maritime Museum around 1939, representing a typical figurehead from an 18^th-century warship. Shows a standing golden lion wearing a crown. The lion is standing on a wooden structure in the shape of a ship’s prow, painted brown and green. The rampant lion was the traditional figurehead of the Spanish Armada until 1793, when a Royal Order was signed by Charles IV at the urging of Captain-General Antonio Valdés, giving ships the freedom to have figureheads referencing the ship’s name or nickname. From then on, it became common to find mythological or anthropomorphic figures on the bow of ships.