A three-quarter length female figurehead of the mythical Greek/Arcadian huntress Atalanta. The figurehead was carved for the 16-gun wooden two-masted brig Atalanta (1847) built at Pembroke Dockyard. The figurehead depicts Atalanta in a green, loose-flowing dress that has slipped from her left shoulder. The trail-board below her dress has a bow and arrow carved into it, picked out in red and gold paint, reinforcing her status as a hunter.

Atalanta was famed for running swiftly and refused to marry unless a suitor could first defeat her in a race. During one contest, Milanion dropped three golden apples, a gift from Venus, which Atalanta stopped to collect, allowing him to win the race.