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Two scrimshaw pieces, c1840 and c1860

Image Two scrimshaw pieces, c1840 and c1860

TLF ID R4230

These are two pieces of scrimshaw made from sperm whale teeth by unknown artists. Designs have been incised into the teeth and filled in with black and coloured inks. The piece on the right was made in around 1860 and shows a woman in a crinoline - she wears a hat and a patterned coat and dress. She stands on a decorated border and is flanked by shrubs. It measures 19 cm (height) x 10 cm (width) x 8 cm (depth). The piece on the left depicts a tall ship with sails hoisted, with a port in the background. Above and below the central image are bands of decoration featuring plants and possibly leaves or feathers. It was made around 1840 and measures 15 cm (height) x 7.5 cm (width) x 5 cm (depth).

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Educational details

Educational value
  • This asset provides examples of scrimshaw, an art form in which the bones and teeth of sperm whales and the tusks of walruses are engraved or lightly carved with a picture or design.
  • It provides an example of the use of a natural product of the sperm whale ('Physeter macrocephalus'), which is the largest of the toothed whales, and possibly the largest toothed animal to have ever lived - it grows to 18 m length on average, weighs around 52 tonnes, and has a distinctive large square head containing 'spermaceti', a substance believed by scientists to aid the whale in its extraordinarily deep dives; on average, a sperm whales can dive down to 500 m but have been recorded as deep as 3 km, where it hunts prey such as giant squid and octopus.
  • It is a by-product of the whaling industry - sperm oil and spermaceti wax were in great demand for high-quality candles during the 18th and 19th centuries, which led to the development of an extensive international whaling industry; some whalers, at sea for as long as five years, found themselves with plenty of spare time and thus the art of scrimshaw began to emerge in the early 1800s.
  • It illustrates how sperm whale teeth were used by whalers - each whale has between 20 and 30 unpaired teeth, made of high-density, easily workable bone; they weigh as much as 1 kg each.
  • It illustrates an increasingly rare and valuable type of artwork - an official ban on commercial whaling means that whale bone is no longer readily available; privately owned original pieces of scrimshaw have become valuable, and many pieces are now held by museums.
  • It provides an example of typical scrimshaw designs practised by whalers - scenes featuring ships were especially popular; whalers also made hand tools, toys and kitchen utensils from whale bone, as well as the highly decorative, ornamental pieces.
Topics Ivory carving Whale hunting Bivalves

Other details

Contributors
  • Contributor
  • Name: Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa
  • Organization: Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa
  • Description: Content provider
  • URL: http://www.tepapa.govt.nz
  • Name: Education Services Australia
  • Organization: Education Services Australia
  • Description: Data manager
  • Copyright Holder
  • Name: Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa
  • Organization: Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa
  • Publisher
  • Name: Education Services Australia Ltd
  • Organization: Education Services Australia Ltd
  • Description: Publisher
  • Address: VIC, AUSTRALIA
  • URL: http://www.esa.edu.au
  • Resource metadata contributed by
  • Name: Education Services Australia Ltd
  • Organisation: Education Services Australia Ltd
  • Address: AUSTRALIA
  • URL: www.esa.edu.au
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Learning Resource Type
  • Image
Rights
  • © Education Services Australia Ltd and Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa, 2013, except where indicated under Acknowledgements