A half-length polychrome figurehead of William Ewart Gladstone (1809-1898) from an unknown merchant ship. He is formally attired in a high-collared white shirt, waistcoat and dark jacket. The scroll in his arms could depict any one of the acts passed during his time in office, including the Third Reform Act in 1884 which further extended voting rights as part of wider measures to reform parliamentary representation. His left forefinger is missing and a large section of left forearm.

Gladstone was an influential politician, whose parliamentary career lasted 60 years. Initially a Conservative, he served as a Liberal Prime Minister on four occasions. Probably loosely based on contemporary photographs, this figurehead depicts Gladstone in later life with characteristic sideburns and receding hairline.