Want more images or videos?

Request additional images or videos from the seller

1 of 13

Scrimshaw di dente di balena inciso raffigurante il Captain F. Swain 1850

$2,610.91List Price

About the Item

Scrimshaw di un dente di balena inciso, raffigurante da un lato il mezzo busto del Captain F. Swain dal vestito elegante e dal bel viso. Sul Retro la scritta Master The WHALER SWAN incorniciata da un ricco cartiglio. Databile attorno alla metà del XIX secolo. Buono stato. Misure cm 10x3,5x3 inches 4x1.4x1.3. La parola scrimshaw si riferisce a una forma d'arte (e ai diversi prodotti di quest'arte) sviluppatasi a bordo delle baleniere americane tra il 1745 e il 1759 come mezzo di svago per occupare il tempo durante le lunghe ore a bordo; questa forma d'arte consisteva in un processo di incisione e intaglio di ossa e denti di balena, con cui veniva realizzata una vasta gamma di oggetti sia di uso comune che ornamentali, che di solito erano realizzati come souvenir per i membri della propria famiglia. Nella scelta dei materiali il primo era sicuramente il dente d'avorio del capodoglio. Solo la punta del dente era liscia ed era necessario preparare il resto della superficie ruvida lucidandola. Il dente era ben immerso in acqua salata o calda, spesso con l'aggiunta di potassio. Quindi veniva utilizzata una lima per strofinare e arrotondare la superficie, e infine una carta vetrata fine per completare il processo. L'ultima fase della lucidatura veniva eseguita con pomice o cenere e poi il dente veniva strofinato ancora con il palmo della mano. Ogni passaggio doveva essere eseguito molto lentamente per non intaccare la superficie liscia del dente. Per quanto riguarda i soggetti da incidere, i più diffusi erano il disegno di una nave o scene di cattura dei cetacei, realizzati con un ago o un coltello, o una lama appropriata: per esempio grazie a Herman Melville sappiamo che alcuni balenieri avevano scatole di strumenti da dentista appositamente progettate per lo scrimshandering. L'origine dello scrimshandering, come lo chiamavano i balenieri, cioè l'arte di realizzare scrimshaw, è un mistero: le teorie spaziano dall'individuarne l'origine nella cultura eschimese oppure presso i nativi americani, fino all'enfatizzare l'influenza degli isolani dei Mari del Sud. La spiegazione di Edouard A. Stackpole (1903 -1993), giornalista americano, scrittore e storico di caccia alle balene, è forse la più plausibile: lo scrimshaw sarebbe stato semplicemente lo sviluppo marittimo dell'antica arte di intagliare l'avorio, così come era stata praticata per secoli, e in quanto forma d'arte popolare non sarebbe stato altro che un adattamento da parte dei balenieri americani di un antico mestiere.

Dimensions:
Height: 4 in (10.16 cm)Diameter: 1.4 in (3.56 cm)
Materials and Techniques:
Teeth
Period:
Mid-19th Century
Date of Manufacture:
1850
Condition:
Wear consistent with age and use.
Seller Location:
Milan, IT
Reference Number:
1stDibs: LU1020237661032

Antique 1720s Dutch Baroque Prints

Materials

Paper

Early 18th Century Engraving of the Northern Whale Fishery, circa 1720

$2,400

H 20.75 in W 25.13 in D 1 in

Sailor s Folk Art Woolie of a Single Decker Ship of the Line, circa 1850

Located in Nantucket, MA

Antique Sailor's Folk Art Woolie of a Single Decker Ship of the Line, circa 1850, a sailor's folk art woolwork picture handcrafted of woolen yarn in a bold variety of stitches, depic...

Category

Antique Mid-19th Century English Folk Art Nautical Objects

Materials

Wool

Sailor s Folk Art Woolie of a Single Decker Ship of the Line, circa 1850

$3,600

H 13.75 in W 17.75 in D 1.25 in

Ingenious Contrivances, Curiously Carved Scrimshaw, New Bedford Whaling Museum

Located in valatie, NY

Ingenious Contrivances, Curiously Carved: Scrimshaw in the New Bedford Whaling Museum by Stuart M Frank. Stated 1stEd hardcover with dust jacket. By the mi...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Books

Materials

Paper

Ingenious Contrivances, Curiously Carved Scrimshaw, New Bedford Whaling Museum

$295

H 11.25 in W 9.5 in D 1.25 in

Scale Model of a Fully Fitted Whale Boat, circa 1950s

Located in Nantucket, MA

Vintage Scale Model of a Fully Fitted Whale Boat, circa 1950s, a hand crafted wooden model of a carvel hulled whale boat having a smooth strake edge to edge construction, fully fitte...

Category

Vintage 1950s American Folk Art Nautical Objects

Materials

Wood

Scale Model of a Fully Fitted Whale Boat, circa 1950s

$1,185

H 5.5 in W 12.88 in D 3.38 in

19th Century Sailor s Woolie of a Double Decker Ship of the Line, circa 1850

Located in Nantucket, MA

19th Century Sailor's Folk Art Woolie with a Double Decker Ship of the Line, ca 1850, depicting a larboard side view of a square-rigged double decker warship under standing rigging, ...

Category

Antique Mid-19th Century English Folk Art Nautical Objects

Materials

Wool

19th Century Sailor s Woolie of a Double Decker Ship of the Line, circa 1850

$3,800

H 18.75 in W 24 in D 0.75 in

Antique Iron Whale Flensing Knife

Located in Montreal, QC

From the days of Moby Dick, this heavy tool was used to remove blubber from a whale carcass. The triangular blade is cast at one end of a long cylindrical handle, the other end is wr...

Category

Antique 1850s English Nautical Objects

Materials

Iron

Antique Iron Whale Flensing Knife

$950

H 61 in Dm 1.5 in

Large 19th Century Presentation Half Hull Model of a Whale Ship

Located in Nantucket, MA

19th Century Presentation Half Hull Model of a Whale Ship, circa 1850, a large plank on frame model of a bluff-bowed and wide abeam whale ship. The model wa...

Category

Antique Mid-19th Century American Folk Art Nautical Objects

Materials

Pine

Large 19th Century Presentation Half Hull Model of a Whale Ship

$7,200

H 13.5 in W 65 in D 7.25 in

19th Century Sea Captain s Tea Caddy

Located in Nantucket, MA

Early 19th century sea captain's tea caddy, circa 1830, made of coramandel wood gathered in the Spice Islands China Trade, with sailor's grommet-spliced rope becket handles. The inte...

Category

Antique Early 19th Century American Regency Tea Caddies

Materials

Wood

19th Century Sea Captain s Tea Caddy

$1,725

H 7.5 in W 13 in D 6.5 in

19th Century Sailor s Folk Art Woolie with Ship of the Line and Sloop, ca 1850

Located in Nantucket, MA

19th Century Sailor's Folk Art Woolie with Triple Decker Ship of the Line and Sloop, ca 1850, depicting a starboard side view of a majestic square-rigged...

Category

Antique Mid-19th Century English Folk Art Nautical Objects

Materials

Wool

19th Century Sailor s Folk Art Woolie with Ship of the Line and Sloop, ca 1850

$5,200

H 21.63 in W 29.5 in D 1 in

Carved Wood Sternboard from Captain s Gig On "Terpsichore"

Located in Norwell, MA

Captain's gig sternboard hardwood with rope carved border and brass lettering "Terpsichore Sandefjord" Norway. Great old sternboard from the Captain's gig from the Terpsichore. Circa...

Category

Antique 1850s Norwegian Models and Miniatures

Materials

Brass

Carved Wood Sternboard from Captain s Gig On "Terpsichore"

$2,600

H 11 in W 36 in D 2 in

More From This Seller

View All

Fine watercolor depicting the steamship 1867 Diamond HMP Chatham

Located in Milan, IT

Fine watercolor depicting the 1867 Diamond paddle steamer HMP Chatham. It´s all about an excellently made and very well detailed watercolor by the paddle steamer Diamond, flying th...

Category

Antique 1860s Nautical Objects

Materials

Wood

Fine watercolor depicting the steamship 1867 Diamond HMP Chatham

$1,898

Nautical diorama in glass case depicting 3 ships at sea Italy 1920s

Located in Milan, IT

Nautical diorama in glass case with parallelepiped shape depicting 3 ships at 3 masts in navigation. Italian manufacture of the 1920s. Bon état. Measurements 46x17x16.5 cm - inches ...

Category

Vintage 1920s Nautical Objects

Materials

Glass

Nautical diorama in glass case depicting 3 ships at sea Italy 1920s

$2,076

Early 20th century bronze casting bookends depicting an English pole brigantine

Located in Milan, IT

Pair of bookends, bronze casting depicting an English pole brig at sea, where the sails unfurled between the waves and mounted on mahogany wood base. English manufacture of the earl...

Category

Early 20th Century Nautical Objects

Materials

Bronze

Early 20th century bronze casting bookends depicting an English pole brigantine

$1,780

Print depicting table 24 from Atlas F.A. Brockhaus in Leipzig 1869-1875

Located in Milan, IT

Print depicting plate No. 24 from engraving on steel plate and taken from the Illustrated Atlas published by F.A. Brockhaus, in Leipzig 1869-1875 the iconographic encyclopedia of t...

Category

Antique 19th Century Nautical Objects

Materials

Paper

Print depicting table 24 from Atlas F.A. Brockhaus in Leipzig 1869-1875

$569

Small carved wooden figurehead depicting young Moretto Venice late 19th century

Located in Milan, IT

Small carved wooden figurehead depicting young Moretto, mounted on red marble base, late 19th-century Venetian manufacture. This is a beautifully crafted sculpture made of polychrom...

Category

Antique 1890s Nautical Objects

Materials

Wood

Small carved wooden figurehead depicting young Moretto Venice late 19th century

$7,714

Diorama in shrine with trapezoidal shape depicting Brigantine late 19th century

Located in Milan, IT

Nautical diorama in trapezoidal-shaped glass and white-painted wood vitrine depicting the half-hull in the waves of a brig with unfurled sails made of balsa wood, in the background p...

Category