figurehead, carved decoration usually representing a head or figure placed under the bowsprit of a ship. The art is of extreme antiquity. Ancient galleys and triremes carried rostrums, or beaks, on the bow to ram enemy vessels. These beaks were often surmounted by figureheads representing national or religious emblems. Roman vessels were sometimes embellished with large heads of the gods in bronze. Viking ships had lofty and extended prows which were elaborately carved. Dragons and lions vied with the human form in the figureheads of the Renaissance. During the 18th and 19th cent. a highly developed and original art of figurehead wood carving flourished in the United States at a time when little other sculpture was practiced. Few examples survive. With the disappearance of the sailing vessel figurehead art became practically extinct. A fine collection of American figureheads is in the Mariners' Museum, Newport News, Va.

Ornamental symbol or figure placed on a prominent part of a ship, usually at the bow. It could be a religious symbol, a national emblem, or a figure symbolizing the ship's name. The custom of decorating a ship probably began in ancient Egypt or India and was followed by the Chinese, Phoenicians, Greeks, and Romans. As early as 1000 BC, the stem- and sternposts were carved and painted to distinguish one ship from another. The Vikings built ships with high bows and a projecting stem bearing a menacing figurehead, similar to the ships of William I the Conqueror as seen in the Bayeux Tapestry. Figureheads have historically varied in size from 18 in. (45 cm) to 8–9 ft (2.5 m). They remained popular until after World War I.

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In politics, a figurehead, by metaphor with the carved figurehead at the prow of a sailing ship, is a person who holds an important title or office yet executes little actual power. Common figureheads include constitutional monarchs, such as the Emperor of Japan, or presidents in parliamentary democracies, such as the President of Israel.

While the authority of a figurehead is generally symbolic, respect and access to high levels of government can give them significant influence on some events. An example would be Emperor Hirohito's involvement in World War II. In parliamentary systems, presidents are figureheads at times of peace (delegated such powers as convening or dismissing the national legislature), but at wartime they are often commanders in chief.

Sometimes a figurehead can be exploited in times of emergency. For example, Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi used the figurehead President of India to issue unilateral decrees that allowed her to bypass parliament when it no longer supported her.

The word can also have more sinister overtones, and refer to a powerless leader who should be exercising full authority, yet is actually being controlled by a more powerful figure behind the throne.

The tendency of this word to drift, like many words that are in a strong process of changed meanings, into the pejorative is beginning to make it unsuitable to apply to a head of state with limited constitutional authority, such that its use may become increasingly inappropriate in referring to monarchs and presidents in parliamentary systems.

See also

• Head of State