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A half-length bust of Queen Leda of Sparta from HMS Leda (1828).
A half-length bust of Leda, the wife of the Spartan King Tyndarus from the 46-gun Fifth Rate Frigate Leda (1828), built at Pembroke Dockyard. The ship became a police hulk in 1864 and was sold to Harris's of Bristol in 1906 for breaking up.
According to Greek legend, Leda, while bathing, was raped by Zeus in the guise of a swan. In some versions of the myth, which vary considerably in detail, she laid two eggs each producing twins: the warriors Castor and Pollux, and the beauties Helen of Troy and Clytemnestra. The figurehead does not show her with a swan, although it may have been represented on the trail-board below. Leda is wearing a simple shirt with what may be a version of a Greek peplos mantle draped over it, pinned at each shoulder with large brooches.
According to Greek legend, Leda, while bathing, was raped by Zeus in the guise of a swan. In some versions of the myth, which vary considerably in detail, she laid two eggs each producing twins: the warriors Castor and Pollux, and the beauties Helen of Troy and Clytemnestra. The figurehead does not show her with a swan, although it may have been represented on the trail-board below. Leda is wearing a simple shirt with what may be a version of a Greek peplos mantle draped over it, pinned at each shoulder with large brooches.
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Object Details
| ID: | FHD0087 |
|---|---|
| Collection: | Figureheads |
| Type: | Figurehead |
| Display location: | Display - Neptune Court |
| Vessels: | Leda (1828) |
| Date made: | 1828 |
| Credit: | National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, London |
| Measurements: | Overall: 1676 mm x 838 mm x 914 mm |
| Parts: | A half-length bust of Queen Leda of Sparta from HMS Leda (1828). |