Scrimshaw Sperm Whale Tooth, 20th Century
Scrimshaw Sperm Whale Tooth, 20th Century
Previous
Next
Usage conditions apply
- Description
- The scene on the obverse of this tooth might serve as a primer for sticking a whale. In the front center is a whaleboat with sail rigged up and four rowers with shipped oars. In the stern the boat steerer sits, and in the bow the harpooner stands with his arms in the air, ready to hurl his iron into the flesh of a whale. The detail in the freehand carving is so fine that the nails in the individual outer hull planks are visible, along with the sail's reefing points and sewn seams. To the left in the background, the mother ship is seen in the distance; the scene is bordered along the bottom edge by a laurel leaf vine.
- The reverse is etched with a large, anatomically correct sperm whale; below it is a waving pennant inscribed "PAUL GANDON". There is no one named Gandon in the New Bedford Whaling Museum Whaling Crew List Database.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- Object Name
- scrimshaw tooth, whale
- scrimshaw
- date made
- 20th century
- Physical Description
- tooth (overall material)
- Measurements
- overall: 7 in x 3 in x 2 in; 17.78 cm x 7.62 cm x 5.08 cm
- ID Number
- 1978.0052.28
- accession number
- 1978.0052
- catalog number
- 1978.52.28
- Credit Line
- From the collection of Dr. and Mrs. Wilbur J. Gould
- See more items in
- Work and Industry: Maritime
- Cultures & Communities
- Art
- Transportation
- Scrimshaw
- 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.
