an old pirate ship is docked in the water
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Figurehead

A figurehead was a carved wooden decoration found at the prow of ships. Mariners were a superstitious bunch, and they believed that a woman on board a ship would always bring bad luck. They made one exception: wooden women were allowed, but only if they were nailed to the bow as a figurehead. Although earlier ships had often had some form of bow ornamentation (e.g. the Viking ships of ca. A.D. 800–1100), the general practice was introduced with the galleons of the 16th century, as the…

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