Scrimshaw walking stick traditional design
Datemid 19th Century
Object number00032496
NameWalking stick
MediumWhalebone
DimensionsOverall: 870 x 115 x 25 mm, 0.54 kg
ClassificationsDecorative and folk art
Credit LineANMM Collection
DescriptionThis simply designed walking stick was carved from a single piece of whale bone and features a curved handle. Unlike other similar scrimshaw it has no decorative engravings. Walking sticks were a fashionable accessory for men in the 19th century and came in a variety of styles and materials. Whalers made them in large numbers for personal use or as gifts.HistoryScrimshaw is a maritime folk art that developed onboard American whaling ships in the 19th century. It helped sailors deal with the isolation and loneliness of being on whaling expeditions that often lasted for more than five years. Scrimshaw is produced by engraving and carving animal material, such as whale bone, teeth and baleen, walrus tusks and shell. Using jackknives, saws or homemade files sailors would etch artistic images of women, whaling scenes and memories of home or carve popular functional objects, including canes, needles, cutlery, cups or containers.SignificanceThis item represents the scrimshaw production of walking sticks. It must have come from a particuarly large whale as it was carved from a single piece of bone.
19th century
mid 19th Century
mid 19th century
mid 19th Century
mid 19th Century
late 19th century
Mid to late 19th century
late 19th century
late 19th century