Collections

Scrimshaw - 'Whaling incident'

Collection ID: 
2000.027.2
Collection: 
Social history
Sperm whale tooth with a whaling incident depicted on one side and a polar bear on ice flow on the other. The whale is depicted surging up knocking men out of their small boats and a harpoon is flying. Water is being squirted out of the whale's blowhole. On the other side a fully rigged sailing ship is sailing past the polar bear which looks marooned on a piece of floating ice. Scrimshaw is made by carving into the tooth and then rubbing a mixture of chalk and ink into the lines to make the drawing stand out. Done as a pastime by many seafaring men.

Physical attributes

Dimensions
Height115mm

Production

Technique
Scrimshaw