Care and cleaning

Treat your scrimshawed ivory as you would any fine jewelry. Do not get it wet unnecessarily, because the inks, especially colors, may fade. Keep your scrimshaw out of bright sun; this dries and cracks the ivory and may fade certain colored inks. Detergents, shampoo, heavily chlorinated water, and jewelry cleaning solutions should be avoided, as they turn the ivory surface dull and remove the etched lines. Dirt and oils may be removed with a cotton swab moistened in rubbing alcohol and wiped gently over the surface. Do not scrub, as this will remove some ink from the fine lines. I use a light coat of warm beeswax rubbed into the ivory to preserve the scrimshaw and keep the ivory from drying and aging too fast. Waxing should be repeated when the ivory is cleaned, because the alcohol removes it. If you treat your scrimshaw with care, it will give you many years of pleasure and may become a treasured heirloom.

What is scrimshaw?

Scrimshaw -- Painstaking etching on ivory or bone -- is one of only a few indigenous American crafts. Practiced for centuries by the Inuit and other native groups along the Northwest Coast, it was adopted by the Yankee whalemen of the early 1800's. Two- to five-year voyages quickly became monotonous, so the whalemen turned to working with baleen, whale teeth, and jawbones, all of which were in abundant supply -- in fact, on many ships, whale teeth were part of the pay, and were often traded to shopkeepers in port for goods or services. Common subjects included whaling scenes, ships, women, and scenes copied from magazines of the day. The origin of the word is obscure; one interesting etymology is a Dutch phrase meaning "to waste one's time!" The term "scrimshaw" also applies to carved or pierced bone or ivory, since much of the whalemen's work was carved rather than etched.

History & Materials

Scrimshaw is derived from the shipboard practice of sailors creating common tools, and on whaling ships the byproducts of whales were readily available. The term originally referred to the making of these tools, only later referring to works of art created by whalers in their spare time. Whale bone is ideally suited for the task, as it is easy to work and was very plentiful.

The development of scrimshaw took off after the market for whale teeth, which was sought by Chinese traders for use in the Pacific Islands (for example the Fijian market for tabua), was flooded with teeth after a narrative by an American sailor, Captain David Porter, revealed both the market and the source of the teeth. Around this time is the earliest authenticated pictorial piece of scrimshaw (1817). The tooth was inscribed with the following This is the tooth of a sperm whale that was caught near the Galapagos islands by the crew of the ship Adam [of London], and made 100 barrels of oil in the year 1817.[2]

Other sea animal ivories were also used as alternatives for rarer whale teeth. Walrus tusks, for example, may have been acquired in trade from indigenous walrus hunters.

Scrimshaw essentially was a leisure activity for whalers. Because the work of whaling was very dangerous at the best of times, whalers were unable to work at night. This gave them a great deal more free time than other sailors. A lot of scrimshaw was never signed and a great many of the pieces are anonymous. Early scrimshaw was done with crude sailing needles, and the movement of the ship, as well as the skill of the artist, produced drawings of varying levels of detail and artistry. Originally, candle black, soot or tobacco juice would have been used to bring the etched design into view. Today's artists use finer tools in various sizes, mostly borrowed from the dental industry. Some scrimshanders ink their work with more than one color, and restrained polychromed examples of this art are now popular.

Originating in an era when sperm whales were initially plentiful only to be hunted to near collapse, scrimshaw no longer is an artform utilizing an easily renewable animal resource, but one that is susceptible to contraband. Now, the Endangered Species Act and international conventions restrict the harvest and sale of ivory to try to reverse the scarcity of ivory-bearing animals.

  • Though there are sources of ivory that are sanctioned and legal, poachers in Africa and other continents where elephants are an endangered species still kill for their ivory, Elephant ivory has been regulated since 1976 by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species and selling African ivory has been prohibited since 1989.
  • 19th and 20th century scrimshaw, scrimshaw crafted before 1989 (elephant) or before 1973 (sperm whale ivory, walrus ivory etc.) is legal. It is prohibited after that year for commercial import in the U.S. under the Marine Mammal Protection Act.
  • Additionally, walrus tusks bearing the Alaska State walrus ivory registration tag, and post-law walrus ivory that has been carved or scrimshawed by a native Alaskan Indian (Eskimo), is legally available.
  • Finally, any ivory considered ancient, such as 10,000 to 40,000 year old mammoth ivory, is completely unrestricted in its sale or possession.

Scrimshanders and collectors acquire legal whale teeth and marine tusks through estate sales, auctions and antiqure dealers. To avoid illegal ivory, collectors and artists check provenance and deal only with other established and reputable dealers. Scrimshaw that is found to have been illegally sourced may be seized by customs officials worldwide, dramatically loses value and is very hard to re-sell, as the limited channels through which collectible scrimshaw passes serves as a check on unscrupulous persons. As with any other fine art form, it is usually possible for experienced museums, auction houses or other experts to perceive a fake.

Thursday 23 March 2017

Let’s talk…Scrimshaw

 May 20 2016
The term “scrimshaw” was coined in 18th Century America aboard a whaling vessel. Its linguistic roots are unknown, but thought to be derived from a Dutch or English or nautical word. The general understanding of the word is “to waste time”. The term scrimshaw also represents more than the carved sperm whale teeth that have become the most recognizable and perhaps most desirable form of scrimshaw, today. All handy crafts (from whale bone corsets busks to carved wood boxes) that were created by sailors on whaling ships in 18th Century America were considered scrimshaw.
The most recognized form of scrimshaw is the art of carving images into some form of ivory or bone, in most instances and perhaps most popularly used were sperm whale teeth. Due to the large supply and the lack of commercial value of the teeth, sailors simply had to ask for one, and were not often charged a fee for it. The teeth then had to be smoothed of all ridges and imperfections prior to carving. The first layer of imperfections was almost always scraped away with a knife, and then the scrimshanders would use sharkskin or pumice to smooth the surface further. Finally, the teeth would be buffed with a soft cloth to achieve a high glossy finish.
The tool of choice was a needle, but if the sailor could not lay his hands on one, his trusty pocketknife would do the trick. Using his tools the sailor would scratch and/or carve an image into the polished tooth. As the image began to take shape the sailor would rub pigment into the already cut/etched surface, revealing his design. Since ink was not easy to come by, sailors would use things like soot or ground gunpowder mixed with whale oil to create pigment. General themes included sweethearts from home as well as life at sea, like whaling ships dashing across the waves or Mermaids sunbathing on rocks.
It is important to note that the term or technique has grown to include Eskimo Ivory carvings. There are Eskimo ivory carving that pre and post-date the whaleman’s scrimshaw, which may indicate simultaneous development this art form. It is also hypothesized that the Eskimos borrowed this style of art from Russian traders that were in eastern Siberia as early as the 17th century (Ray, 99). The theory is that the Russians were trading with the Native Alaskans even before the first explorers made it to Alaska’s coasts. However, nothing as graphically-advanced as the whaleman scrimshander’s art would be seen from the Eskimos until after 1835 when the first Whaleman traveled to the islands of Alaska.
Through creative exchange the Whalemen received access to new materials, like mammoth and walrus tusks as well as a revived cultural interested in scrimshaw art. The Eskimos gained new ideas of items, like cribbage boards, pipes, cane handles, and napkin rings, to be created for commercial sale. It was a win-win situation.
One of the most well known Eskimo carvers is Happy Jack, originally named Angokwazhuk. He hailed from Diomede Island and was convinced to accompany Captain Hartson Bodfish on a journey to San Francisco in 1892. During this journey he acquired the new name as well as “new ideas that added to his own talent in ivory carving.” (Flayderman, 247). Through his and other Eskimo carvers success and the increase in visitors to Alaska during the Alaskan Gold Rush there was a surge in the collection of Scrimshaw and Eskimo carving which made it an important part of the Eskimos’ livelihood.
As whaling faded so did the scrimshaw trade by the turn of the 19th century most sailors had moved on to other jobs and life in general had changed. However, in the 1960’s President John F. Kennedy’s collection created a revival in the creation and collection of this unique art. This revived interested has continued and evolved due to restrictions on the buying and selling of ivory. To learn more about scrimshaw we suggest looking at our resources as well as the New Bedford Whaling Museum site.
New Bedford Whaling Museum, located in Bedford, Massachusetts, has a Scrimshaw Weekend every year dedicated to “the indigenous shipboard art of whalers during the ‘Age of Sail.’” It has several events through out the weekend that you can choose to attend or purchase a weekend pass for all the festivities.
Resources for this blog include:
A Legacy of Artic Art by Dorothy Jean Ray
Scrimshaw and Scrimshanders Whales and Whalemen by E. Norman Flayderman
“This History of Scrimshaw” from Hops Scrimshaw http://www.hopscrimshaw.com/about/scrimhistory.htm
The images used in this article are items that are currently for sale on our website. To see more scrimshaw items please visit our Eskimo collection

source :  https://arthurwerickson.com/blogs/news/126279235-let-s-talk-scrimshaw
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