Several sculpted pieces of pine and alder were found, broken, at the very front of the ship. They were covered in a coloured pigment whose composition is still unknown, and decorated with curls of hair or fur. Their location and workmanship led researchers to identify them as parts of a large figurehead, particularly since one piece is clearly part of a three-corner hat; a simple calculation of proportions leads one to think that the figure was originally some 2.5 metres tall. We know from archival sources that the Aimable Grenot was indeed fitted with a figurehead depicting Charles Grenot, former navy commissioner at Granville and friend of the shipbuilder. Grenot was shown "standing, wearing a blue uniform with red trousers and stockings." It was rare for figureheads of contemporary, flesh-and-blood figures to take the place traditionally reserved for allegorical characters. Thus, the presence of a three-cornered hat, which is surely connected with a human figure, reinforced the identification of Natière 2 as the Aimable Grenot.
