Summary

Reproductions of the sculptures that adorned the Vasa in what is believed to be the original colors, displayed at the Vasa Museum. The description and original placing of the sculptures is as follows (starting from the left, top row first):

1. Warrior in Roman armor with a lion and a dog by its feet; the upper starboard side of the bow. In this sculpture, the lion and dog represent gentleness and compassion towards the weak.
2. Warrior in Roman armor.
3. Warrior in Roman armor.
4. Grotesque console head; lower port quarter gallery.
5. Grotesque console head; the corner where the lower stern gallery meets the starboard quarter gallery. It shows a figure with bare chest, writhing in agony as snakes slither in and out of the orifices of its head. It represents death and decay and is placed below the sculpture of the young Hercules (one of two Hercules images on the ship).
6. Grotesque console head; lower port quarter gallery.
7. Shield from the coat of arms of Sweden; the upper part of the transom. The three crowns have been the symbol of Swedish kings since the Middle Ages. This shield is part of the much larger series of sculptures that consist of an embellished depiction of the national coat of arms flanked by two lions and surrounded on three sides by draperies held up by putti, images of small chubby babies.
8. Herm designed as a triton; upper starboard quarter gallery. The sculpture is dressed in a Roman Catholic prelate's biretta, a type of priest's hat, which mocks the Catholic faith (the ship was intended to be used in a war that was waged primarily between Protestants and Catholics).
9. Caryatid designed as a mermaid; upper starboard quarter gallery.
10. Warrior clad in Roman armor; lower port quarter gallery.
11. The Roman emperor Titus; starboard side of the beakhead.
12. The coat of arms of the House of Vasa; middle of the lower stern gallery. The coat of arms portraying a vase (sheaf), the namesake of the ship, is flanked by two cherubs holding olive branches and is surrounded by ornamentation.
13. Pilaster representing the phlegmatic humor; forward tower of the lower starboard quarter gallery.
14. King David playing a harp; the lower stern gallery right below the coat of arms of the House of Vasa.
15. A Gothic warrior in 17th century armor; the lower stern gallery next to the coat of arms of the House of Vasa.

Licensing

This work has been released into the public domain by its author, I, Peter Isotalo. This applies worldwide. In some countries this may not be legally possible; if so: I, Peter Isotalo grants anyone the right to use this work for any purpose, without any conditions, unless such conditions are required by law.