Exhibition Overview

Lloyd McCaffery is an internationally acclaimed miniature artist, renowned for his scratch-built model ships and his exquisitely carved miniature ship figureheads. McCaffery frequents maritime museums studying their collections, historic paintings, drawings, and documents to identify the most attractive and historically significant ships and figureheads, which he then masterfully recreates in miniature. This exhibit features figureheads from his clipper ship series. The clipper ship was a narrow vessel with a concave bow under which a figurehead was mounted.  What the clipper lacked in cargo capacity, it made up for in speed - making it a viable and popular ship for fast delivery of profitable goods, such as tea transport from China to Europe and the US, in the early 19^th century.

The history of figureheads dates to ancient times, when mythology explained natural phenomenon. The Phoenician, Egyptian, Greek, and Roman seafarers had a slew of myths and superstitions that provided a sense of security for sailors on the open sea.  Among those beliefs was the notion that a ship was a living being with a spirit. To represent the spirit of the ship, Phoenicians and Egyptians placed fierce beasts on the hulls. The Greeks believed a ship needed eyes to make her way safely across the open sea, so they painted eyes on the sides of a ships bow; later, the Romans transformed this practice into the creation of a figurehead mounted on the bow itself. The belief that a figurehead guided the ship and protected the crew was a world-wide phenomenon, making the mounting of figureheads on seafaring ships standard practice in most countries for centuries. Figurehead subjects can include religious personages, national emblems, prominent political figures, or a figure symbolizing the ship’s name.

Up until the latter part of the 19^th century, figureheads were considered an essential part of a ship though, in all practicality, figureheads hindered the maneuvering of the vessel due to their size and weight. But it wasn’t the lack of stability they created which summoned their demise; rather, it was advancements in shipbuilding coupled with the rise of science. When scientific fact diminished attachments to superstition, and ship construction moved away from sail and wood to metal and steam, figureheads were ill-fated. The new steamers of the late 19^th century were more reliable than clipper ships, and with their metal construction and straight hulls, the bowsprits and figureheads that accompanied them became extinct. However, thanks to McCaffery’s diminutive historical carvings, we can still get a glimpse of some of the most interesting figureheads of this bygone era.

Lloyd McCaffery's Creative Process

A consummate artist, McCaffery selects a subject based on three principles: good looks, historical significance, and thorough documentation. Once a decision of what to create is made, he spends a quarter to a half of his time on the project conducting research. After considering every angle, he illustrates the plan by creating an accurate, detailed scale drawing from which he will scratch-build his model ship or figurehead. He works in a range of scales from 1:12 down to 1:768. The carving process involves selection and preparation of wood, paper, metal, plastic, and glass among other items. After the materials are prepared, he uses a carefully curated selection of hand tools designed for working on a small scale, to carve and construct his pieces.