Scrimshaw Sperm Whale Tooth, 19th Century
date: label: date made
content: 19th century
notes: label: Description
content: Only one side of this little sperm whale tooth is carved, and the freehand carving is compressed into only a small area of the available polished surface. The other side is blank. On the left is a classic whaleboat with the standard six crew: four rowers, a boatsteerer at the stern and a harpooner at the bow. All of them are wearing hats. The harpooner holds up a harpoon and is ready to throw the dart into the whale. The scrimshaw artist has cleverly incorporated a crack in the tooth's surface into a line from the boat to the first harpoon, which is sticking out of a whale's back, for what is called a "Nantucket Sleigh Ride". This was slang for when a whale towed a whaleboat until it tired and rose to the water surface.
label: Description
content: After the tow or sleigh ride, the whaleboat would row up to the exhausted whale and kill it. It was normal to use two harpoons to fasten to a whale, in case one was lost or twisted out by the whale's movements. The boat, crew and whale are in light black or brown pigment. By contrast, the water surface is pale blue, which is a rare pigment in the art of scrimshaw.
label: Location
content: Currently not on view
setName: label: See more items in
content: Work and Industry: Maritime
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content: Cultures & Communities
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content: Scrimshaw
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content: Transportation
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content: Art
creditLine: label: Credit Line
content: From the collection of Dr. and Mrs. Wilbur J. Gould
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of American History
identifier: label: ID Number
content: 1978.0052.35
label: accession number
content: 1978.0052
label: catalog number
content: 1978.52.35
objectType: label: Object Name
content: scrimshaw
label: Object Name
content: scrimshaw tooth, whale
physicalDescription: label: Physical Description
content: whale tooth (overall material)
label: Measurements
content: overall: 5 in x 1 3/4 in x 1 1/4 in; 12.7 cm x 4.445 cm x 3.175 cm