Scrimshaw Sperm Whale Tooth, 20th Century
date: label: date made
content: 20th century
notes: label: Description
content: The obverse of this large sperm whale tooth has a freehand etching with an imaginary 10-gun warship, framed by a rope motif. A fluttering pennant below is inscribed "KING NEPTUNE". The top of the tooth is inscribed "WILLIAM•CULLIMORE•N•Y•1842", and the reverse is a rope-framed image of a seated and crowned King Neptune with a trident in his left hand.
label: Description
content: This tooth is probably a reference to the Neptune ceremony inflicted upon the crew and passengers of ships the first time they crossed the equator. King Neptune would emerge from a cabin or the sea and administer some form of mild hazing on the first timers, as a way of passing time and entertaining the veteran sailors aboard the ship.
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: 1978.0052.16
label: accession number
content: 1978.0052
label: catalog number
content: 1978.52.16
objectType: label: Object Name
content: scrimshaw
label: Object Name
content: scrimshaw tooth, whale
label: Other Terms
content: Maritime
physicalDescription: label: Physical Description
content: whale tooth (overall material)
label: Physical Description
content: ivory (overall material)
label: Measurements
content: overall: 6 1/2 in x 3 1/2 in x 2 1/4 in; 16.51 cm x 8.89 cm x 5.715 cm