One of the most delightful details of cars in the 1920s and 1930s are their hood ornaments. These free-standing sculptures became a symbol of prestige and class and were a sign of a super-luxury car due to their labor-intensive casting and polishing processes — not to mention the actual concept vision, sculpting prototypes for the reverse mold, followed by chrome or brass plating.

The below are all pretty outstanding, with the anthropomorphic ones featuring living creatures as perhaps a bit more captivating than the pure Art Deco style shown by the LaSalle and Horch Auto Union cars.

In terms of the most unique or interesting, the Bentley beauty is not often seen since this era. The Delahaye woman’s head and flowing hair in ultra-slim profile is perhaps the most memorable, if not from the driver’s seat. This is because the slim shape is virtually invisible from a straight-ahead angle. Below is another sculpture inspiration in 1:3 scale to kick things off.

Top 10 Most Beautiful Pebble Beach Hood Ornaments

1. 1931 Bentley 4 Litre Vanden Plas Tourer

2. 1935 Pierce-Arrow 1245 Convertible Coupe

3. 1931 Delage D8 S Cabriolet

4. 1934 Packard 1104 Super Eight Phaeton

5. DELAHAYE – Show car

6. Chrysler Imperial – Show car

7. 1936 Horch 853 Cabriolet

8. 1929 Hispano-Suiza H6B Hibbard & Darrin Cabriolet

9. 1935 Cadillac 370D Fleetwood Town Cabriolet

10. 1934 LaSalle 50 Fleetwood Convertible

BONUS: Mystery ornament from Gooding and Co auctions.