Whaler's Fluke Lance
Whaler's Fluke Lance
Usage conditions apply
- Description
- The most dangerous act in the dangerous business of whaling was “spading flukes.” The whaleboat drew up close alongside a desperate, unpredictable whale on the water surface, and a crewman used a boat spade or fluke lance to sever the whale’s tail tendons. This effectively immobilized the prey, for the whale couldn’t swim without its tail.
- According to James Temple Brown, who wrote the 1883 catalog of the Smithsonian’s whaling collection, the fluke lance was exceedingly rare and was regarded as “a monstrosity by all the fraternity”. This rare inscribed example was used aboard the starboard whaleboat of the bark Sea Fox.
- Object Name
- lance
- Fluke Lance
- Other Terms
- lance; Fluke Lance; Maritime
- Date made
- ca 1880-1889
- Brown, James Temple
- maker
- Driggs, James D.
- Place Made
- United States: Massachusetts, New Bedford
- Physical Description
- iron (overall material)
- Measurements
- overall: 3 1/2 in x 59 3/4 in x 1 1/2 in; 8.89 cm x 151.765 cm x 3.81 cm
- ID Number
- TR.056358
- catalog number
- 056358
- accession number
- 012298
- Credit Line
- U.S. Fish Commission through James D. Driggs
- subject
- Whaling
- The Development of the Industrial United States
- See more items in
- Work and Industry: Maritime
- Cultures & Communities
- Work
- Industry & Manufacturing
- Natural Resources
- Transportation
- On the Water exhibit
- Exhibition
- On the Water
- Exhibition Location
- National Museum of American History
- 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.
