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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 18th-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.
