To hoist the heaviest spars, ships of Virginia’s period used a large block and tackle consisting of a strong post fixed to the deck called a “knight” that formed the system’s lower part, and a block called a ram’s head that formed the upper. The top of the knight can be used as a temporary hitching spot, and shipwrights sometimes carved the likeness of an important person. In other countries, fantastic beings were also used, but this was not thought proper in protestant England.

Here, woodworker Fred Gosbee has immortalized lead shipwright Rob Stevens as the knight’s head on Virginia’s knight. He enjoyed carving the knight’s head so much that he carved two. On a 17th-century ship, there would commonly have been only one.