Scrimshaw Sperm Whale Tooth, mid-19th Century
date: label: date made
content: mid 19th century
notes: label: Description
content: This small sperm whale tooth is carved on two sides, with the pictures apparently unrelated. On the obverse is a heavy woman standing in a theatrical entry, probably in some sort of operatic pose. Her arms are crossed, holding a long shawl around her shoulders over a heavy, floor-length gown. Her eyes are more deeply engraved than other features and infilled with black paint, emphasizing her solemn gaze into an imaginary audience. The technique used by the artist is a combination of pinpricking and freehand carving, for an amateur effect.
label: Description
content: Although the subject on the reverse also is a woman, the effect is completely different. Here, a beautiful, elegantly dressed young woman gazes demurely downwards at a closed fan in one hand. A large bustle adorns the back of her dress, which is made of rich, elegant patterned materials. Her hair is swept up in a bun, decorated and held up by a band with red highlights. Carved by the pinprick method, the original artwork used by the scrimshaw artist was probably out of a ladies’ fashion magazine of the period. The use of pinpricking for both linework and integrated detailing speaks to an experienced artist comfortable with his tools, techniques and subject matter.
label: Description
content: Scrimshaw began in the late 18th or early 19th century as the art of carving whale bone and ivory aboard whale ships. The crew on whalers had plenty of leisure time between sighting and chasing whales, and the hard parts of whales were readily available on voyages that could last up to four years.
label: Description
content: In its simplest form, a tooth was removed from the lower jaw of a sperm whale and the surface was prepared by scraping and sanding until it was smooth. The easiest way to begin an etching was to smooth a print over the tooth, prick the outline of the image with a needle and then “connect-the-dots” once the paper was removed. This allowed even unskilled craftsmen to create fine carvings. Some sailors were skilled enough to etch their drawings freehand. After the lines were finished, they were filled in with lamp black or sometimes colored pigments.
label: Description
content: Scrimshaw could be decorative, like simple sperm whale teeth, or they could be useful, as in ivory napkin rings, corset busks (stiffeners), swifts for winding yarn or pie crimpers. The sailor’s hand-carved scrimshaw was then given to loved ones back on shore as souvenirs of the hard and lonely life aboard long and dangerous voyages.
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: Gift of Frederic A. Delano
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of American History
identifier: label: ID Number
content: DL.374499
label: catalog number
content: 374499
label: accession number
content: 136263
objectType: label: Object Name
content: tooth, whale
label: Object Name
content: scrimshaw tooth, whale
physicalDescription: label: Physical Description
content: scrimshaw (overall production method/technique)
label: Physical Description
content: tooth, ivory (overall material)
label: Measurements
content: overall: 4 1/4 in x 1 7/8 in x 1 3/16 in; 10.795 cm x 4.7625 cm x 3.01625 cm