Scrimshaw Sperm Whale’s Tooth, Mid-19th Century
Scrimshaw Sperm Whale’s Tooth, Mid-19th Century
Usage conditions apply
- Description
- The pictures carved on whales’ teeth by scrimshaw artists commonly fall into a group of simple categories, like ships, whales, patriotic scenes, women, shorelines, and the like. Sometimes a tooth’s carving will tell a simple story about danger, loneliness, love or war. Other times, the tale that a tooth tells is lost in time, perhaps forever. This little tooth may be one of the latter. On the top of one side are two outlined flags: on the left is an American flag, and on the right is a flag with a large “M” on it. Both are waving in the wind. Below are the words “OUR COMPROMISE” in two lines. At the bottom is a small cannon on a truck, or carriage. The truck construction indicates that it is a land weapon rather than a ship armament. The depth of the gun etching is much deeper than the flags, perhaps indicating a different artist. Although it is polished and prepared for carving, the other side of the tooth is not decorated. The lack of a date or any other identifying factors makes it almost impossible to decipher the artist’s message to us from an earlier time. Was it a private message to a friend or lover, a political statement, a military event.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- Object Name
- scrimshaw
- scrimshaw tooth, whale
- Physical Description
- whale tooth (overall material)
- Measurements
- overall: 4 1/2 in x 1 3/4 in x 1 3/8 in; 11.43 cm x 4.445 cm x 3.4925 cm
- ID Number
- 1978.0052.39
- accession number
- 1978.0052
- catalog number
- 1978.52.39
- Credit Line
- From the collection of Dr. and Mrs. Wilbur J. Gould
- See more items in
- Work and Industry: Maritime
- Scrimshaw
- Cultures & Communities
- Transportation
- Art
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
Nominate this object for photography.
Our collection database is a work in progress. We may update this record based on further research and review. Learn more about our approach to sharing our collection online.
If you would like to know how you can use content on this page, see the Smithsonian's Terms of Use. If you need to request an image for publication or other use, please visit Rights and Reproductions.
Note: Comment submission is temporarily unavailable while we make improvements to the site. We apologize for the interruption. If you have a question relating to the museum's collections, please first check our Collections FAQ. If you require a personal response, please use our Contact page.
