The body art of a sailor has traditions that date back centuries. The practice of self-decoration became an artistic expression for sailors and an opportunity to create permanence in an otherwise unpredictable occupation.
Images of boats, women or items from home have morphed over the years into the tattoo artistry seen today, but these iconic symbols and imagery tell stories and traditions that are ages old.
The Art of the Sailor: Tattoos & Scrimshaw exhibit, on until Oct. 13 at the , explains that:
an anchor tattoo means that the sailor has crossed the Atlantic or was in the Merchant Marines
a tattoo of a fully rigged ship means the sailor has been around Cape Horn
every swallow tattoo represents 5,000 nautical miles on board a ship
tattoos of a rooster or pig are done on feet to prevent a sailor from drowning. (Roosters and pigs were kept in crates which could float to shore after a shipwreck. They were often the only survivors of the wreck.)
