6012

Mid-19th Century

PAIR OF MANUEL ENOS POLYCHROME SCRIMSHAW WHALE'S TEETH

Both with portraits of women in colorful and elaborately patterned dresses and fancy floral headpieces. One of the women is seated in a parlor chair and is showing an album to a child standing beside her. The other woman, also wearing a richly inked rose-patterned sash, is standing on a blue checkered floor and holding a letter or slender book. Accompanied by a letter from Dr. Stuart Frank authenticating the work as that of Enos.
Lengths 5.5".
Condition: **This item is not available for international delivery. Please be aware of your local regulations regarding the sale of marine mammal parts and bid accordingly. **
Bases cut flat, with some typical chipping and age lines. Evidence of restoration to one chip on left tooth. Reverses undecorated.


The absence of a condition report does not imply an object is free of defects. All items may have normal signs of age and wear commensurate with their age; these issues will likely not be mentioned in the condition report. Please contact Eldred's before the auction with any condition questions. Questions about condition will not be answered after purchase. Condition reports are provided as a courtesy, and we are not responsible for any errors or omissions. Important note on frames: Frames are not guaranteed to be in the same condition as they are in the item photograph. Due to handling and shipping, many frames, especially antique ones, are prone to losses. If you have questions about the condition of a frame, please contact us prior to the auction. 

  • Provenance:
    A Long Island Estate Collection.

    Notes:
    Manuel Enos (1826-1915) is widely considered a master scrimshander but his pieces rarely come to market. A pair with portraits of women in similarly patterned dresses were part of the Thomas Mittler Scrimshaw Collection, sold at Eldred's, Marine Art Auction, October 15, 2016, Lot #33. The pair was illustrated in Through the Eyes of a Collector by Nina Hellman (2015), fig. 43. Other examples are part of the New Bedford Whaling Museum and the Cold Spring Harbor Whaling Museum and Education Center.

    Enos, known as "Big Manuel", led a life as colorful as his scrimshaw. He was born in the Azores and sailed on whaling voyages aboard the
    Huntsville and Sheffield of Cold Spring Harbor, Long Island, New York, then as first mate and captain aboard the Java of New Bedford on voyages from 1860 to 1864 and 1864 to 1869. He took a break from whaling until 1877 and was thought to have perished at sea in 1878, but it was later discovered he started a new life in Chile, with a new name and a new wife. More biographical information can be found in Scrimshaw and Provenance: A Third Dictionary of Scrimshaw Artists by Stuart M. Frank (Mystic, Ct.: Stuart M. Frank and Mystic Seaport Museum, 2013), p. 89-92.

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