Object Record
Images
Metadata
Artist |
Unknown |
Title |
Yankee Blade Figurehead |
Object Name |
Figurehead |
Catalog Number |
xx.5.61.1 |
Description |
This gilded wooden sculpture once graced the wheelhouse of the steamer Yankee Blade, which was wrecked off Penderales Point near Point Arguello on September 29, 1854. It was recovered by Dixie W. Thompson near his uncle's cattle ranch on Santa Rosa Island, about 40 miles from the site of the sinking. Someone from the ranch carried the eagle across the channel where it was traded and installed at Jose Lobero's saloon for a bottle of whiskey and later installed in Lobero's Opera House where it resided until 1924. Bought at auction in 1929 by turkey farmer Mary Kinevan for $5, it was installed atop the ranch entrance gate. It was "discovered" near the summit of San Marcos Pass in 1960 by historian Walker Thompkins. It was donated by the Kinevan Family to the Santa Barbara Historical Museum in 1961. In 2022 it was newly restored with a gilded surface. https://youtu.be/KzM_X3Nb0Sc |
Date |
1853 |
Medium |
Gilded oak and redwood |
Material |
White oak/Redwood/Oil gilding |
Image size |
37" x 80" x 12" |
Credit line |
Gift of Emmet J. Kinevan |
Collection |
Collection Highlights |