Images(10)

Advance Australia

MakerAttributed Charles H Wood

Date1821-1850

Object number00029555

NameScrimshaw whale tooth

MediumWhale tooth

DimensionsOverall: 180 x 75 mm, 0.6 kg

ClassificationsDecorative and folk art

Credit LineANMM Collection Transfer from the Wildlife Protection Authority

Terms

DescriptionThis whale tooth is engraved with an Advance Australia unofficial coat of arms. The inscription details how the tooth was removed from a whale captured off the south west coast of Australia in July 1821. The tooth had developed age cracks before it was engraved indicating that decoration was done many years after. The inscription reads 'This tooth was taken from a monstrous whale struck by the ship JOHN of London on the S.W. coast of Australia, July 1821, after a long and desperate chase, of 40 miles with loss of two boats and one man, its blubber produced 98 barrels of oil with an additional 30 barrels from the head, also 100 lbs ambergris'.HistoryAmerican scrimshaw can trace its roots back to the 19th century whaling industry. It was a craft practiced by whale hunters with plenty of spare time on their hands and involved engraving, carving, inlaying or assembling bone from marine mammals, such as whale bone, teeth and baleen, walrus tusks and shell. Using jack-knives, saws, homemade files or needles sailors carved functional objects and pieces of art depicting images of women, whaling scenes or memories of home. Engravings on Sperm whale teeth are the most popular and recognised pieces of scrimshaw. A tooth would be selected and sawn off for stability. It was then filed and sanded to a smooth surface. Often, the basic design was copied from books and magazine illustrations and scratched into the tooths surface. The engraved lines were filled with ink, lamp black or other pigments and as the work progressed more detail would be added to finish the design. SignificanceThis is an ornately engraved scrimshaw tooth. It is a rare piece because it records the details of a particular whale hunt.