Antique Whale Tooth Scrimshaw
*Buying antique scrimshaw: Engraved teeth,
Nautical canes (or walking sticks) made of whalebone, ivory,
and other exotic woods and shells encountered while on whaling voyages.
Pie crimpers/Jagging wheels, Seamers, Busks, Bodkins, Fids, Swifts
And any other examples of 19th century whaler's art*
*collecting and specializing in antique scrimshaw since 1976*
www.angelfire.com/ca/antiquescrimshaw OR www.antiquescrimshaw.net
bluewave3@earthlink.net
SCRIMSHAW GALLERY
KEEP SCROLLING DOWN THIS PAGE
TO SEE A GREAT VARIETY OF SCRIMSHAW
updated: October, 2008
19th c. scrimshaw in the 21st 19th. c. Whaleships
SCRIMSHAW PIE CRIMPERS/JAGGING WHEELS
c. 1850, American, figural pie crimper in the form of a shark
with a crenulated whale ivory wheel all carved from
the center core of a large sperm whale tooth
depicting one of the whaler's dreaded nemeses at sea.
mid 19th. century, all whale ivory pie crimper
architecturally carved crimpers by the same hand. Flayderman, pg. 148
19th century
SCRIMSHAW CANES/WALKING STICKS
These are not perambulatory aids, but items of fashion,
individuality, power, status and profession.
A cane was designed to be worn rather than used. It showed who you
were and how you viewed yourself. Whether you sported a jewelled Fabergé cane
or one of whalebone fashioned by a sailor on a long sea voyage,
your cane made a powerful statement.
Consequently, these items are intensely personal.
Each cane is redolent with the history of
bygone individuals and their times.
source: Geoffrey Breeze
SWIFT
BUSKS
BODKINS
SEAMER
DIPPER
"I really don't know why it is that all of us are so committed to the sea, except I think it is because in addition to the fact that the sea changes and the light changes, and ships change, it is because we all came from the sea. And it is an interesting biological fact that all of us have, in our veins the exact same percentage of salt in our blood that exists in the ocean, and, therefore, we have salt in our blood, in our sweat, in our tears. We are tied to the ocean. And when we go back to the sea, whether it is to sail or to watch it, we are going back from whence we came."
~John F. Kennedy
The name for a whale's tooth, tabua, is the same throughout the Fiji Islands, originally meant 'sacred object'. Fijians have no traditions of whaling, so it seems that tabua first came from stranded whales, either in Fiji, or in nearby Tonga. Tongans used the relative abundance of sperm whales in their waters to great advantage, bartering tabua for Fijian products as diverse as sandalwood and enormous voyaging canoes, a trade that lasted well into the nineteenth century.
The incidence of whaling ships in the Pacific during the nineteenth century caused a larger supply of whale teeth to become available. At first these were introduced into Fiji by Tongans who had a better access to them, but later, early 19th century European & American whaling ships brought sperm whale teeth as highly valued trade items. Tabua were the price of life and death and indispensable adjuncts to every proposal, whether for marriage, alliance, intrigue, request, apology, appeal to the gods or sympathy with the bereaved.
The traditional Fijian manner of preparing a whale's tooth was to stain and/or smoke it to give it the highly esteemed rich color then drill a small hole at either end and attach cord of braided coconut fiber or pandanus leaves. Occasionally some teeth were polished first. Often though, they were left in their raw, un-polished state prior to staining/smoking. After being thus prepared, it was then suitable for use in formal ceremonies of welcome, funeral gatherings, requests for marriage or land, formal apologies, installation of a chief and so on. When being presented or accepted, it is held in one hand with its cord in the other.
Wondering how to tell if your scrimshaw is real or repro? Click here!
19th c. SCRIMSHAW SPERM WHALE TEETH
Painting:
Napoleon at the Great St. Bernard Pass
Date: 1801
Artist: Jacques-Louis David, 1748-1825
N.S. FINNEY
Though the late 1820's through the 1860's was the golden age of pictorial scrimshaw,
the genre continued even during the decline of the whaling industry
into the last part of the 19th century and beyond.
By 1870, N. S. Finney, a native of Plymouth, Massachusetts,
who had been a whaleman in the 1840's,
set himself up in San Francisco and engraved
walrus tusks (and a smaller number of whale teeth known) on commission,
becoming the first person to take scrimshandering professional.
Questions about your antique scrimshaw?
email Gregg Hurwitz at
bluewave3@earthlink.net
ALBRO
NAVAL ENGAGEMENT ARTIST
a.k.a.
NAVAL ENGAGEMENT ENGRAVER
a.k.a.
NAVAL BATTLE ENGRAVER
Several pieces by this top,
mid 19th c. British, whaler/scrimshander
often depict smoke filled battle scenes on the one side
and occasionally a (polychrome) whaling scene on the opposite side.
Generally the "Naval Battle Engraver's" scrimshaw is most sought after
when he's scrimmed a complete, traditional whaling scene on the tooth,
depicting a whale ship, whaleboats filled with whalers
and at least one sperm whale engaged in the capture.
BANKNOTE ENGRAVER
This piece is, unfortunately, in poor condition.
Ceres A, William Gilpin
BURDETTE
MYRICK/SUSAN'S TEETH
20th century copies
PAGODA/ALBATROSS ARTIST
Scrimshaw teeth c.1860 reflecting illustrations of the period
(high contrast boosts in many publication's illustrations can be deceiving)
pair-photo source: The Decorative Arts and Crafts of Nantucket & NHA
Cenotaph c. 1850 with whaler's memorial near the top
SCRIMSHAW-TABUA
"Sperm-whale teeth were highly prized in Polynesia.
In the Fiji Islands the characteristic manifestation is the tabua,
signifying wealth and status for the owner. It was usually a whole tooth,
polished, pierced, and hung as a pendant of braided plant fiber.
Oil and smoke from council fires
often enhanced development of a deep amber patina.
Whalemen and China traders calling at Fiji
found that whale teeth were so valuable for barter
that they were sometimes willing to part with good scrimshaw."
(S. Frank-More Scrimshaw Artists, pg. 125)
Shown here are three detailed photos of one such example.
It is not known precisely when Fijians began using the tooth of the sperm whale as a precious gift and item of exchange, but it was certainly well before sustained contact with the west began around 1800, and may even date back to the earliest occupation of the islands over 3,000 years ago. 
How can you tell the difference between antique and contemporary?
The engraving (or scrim) on the tooth certainly tells most of the story.
You can also tell a lot from a tooth's patina.
The way it's been kept
and elements it either was or was not exposed to
(human handling, smoke, direct sunlight, humidity or the lack of it, etc.)
have a lot to do with the way a tooth appears today.
Study, research, talk to those with scrimshaw knowledge and experience.
Look at as much scrimshaw as you can.
You can develop an eye for what is:
antique or contemporary,
extremely well done, average or poorly done work,
genuine scrimshaw or a plastic/resin reproduction.
-a well done plastic repro-
"Tests" for Plastic Fakeshaw: Various tests for plastic have been published,
such as the "hot needle" test, and the "match" test,
and viewing fakeshaw under black light (ultraviolet light).
However, THESE TESTS USUALLY DO NOT WORK!
The tests were useful when they were first published (as early as 1979),
but manufacturers of fakeshaw are not fools.
They read the test results too, and they change their formulas,
so that hot needles will not penetrate the newer polymers
any better than they will penetrate real bone.
A match won't necessarily burn it, and it may fluoresce under ultraviolet light
to a degree that only a trained expert can distinguish it from organic matter.
AS SEEN IN:
Please email if you have antique scrimshaw for sale.
*Buying antique: engraved teeth, nautical canes/walking sticks,
pie crimpers/jagging wheels, seamers,
busks, bodkins, fids, swifts
and any other
examples of 19th century whaler's art*
CLICK HERE TO EMAIL GREGG
GREGG HURWITZ ANTIQUE SCRIMSHAW
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