3091

Mid-19th Century

EXCEPTIONAL SCRIMSHAW WHALE'S TOOTH BY THE VIGNETTE ARTIST

A wide tooth providing a sizable canvas. Obverse depicts a whaling scene with a whaleship and five whaleboats in pursuit of sperm whales, the boat in the lower left with text bubble "Pull Hard Boys Stoven Boat". In the lower right, one boat is fast to a whale that has stoved another boat, the boat now teetering in the whale's jaw and the whalemen akimbo in the air and the water. In the background, two whaleboats, harpoons poised, flank a spouting sperm whale. A framed vignette above depicts a close-up view of a whaleboat with text bubble "Box Her Down Boys". To the right of the vignette is a design of concentric triangles. Obverse depicts a starboard view of a three-masted ship flying assorted flags and pennants, including two American flags, an ensign, a long streamer and a swallowtail. All vignettes with fine line borders and shaded arches at upper corners. Primary vignettes with intermittent vine borders.
Length 6.75".
Condition: Small fracture at tip, showing some loss. Typically uneven base.
**Not available for international shipping.**


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: Notes:
    The Vignette Engraver's identity is yet to be uncovered, but at least two teeth by the same hand, all with the characteristic framed vignettes and scenes of American whaleships, have come to market at Eldred's. One, from the collection of Thomas Mittler, was sold at the Marine Sale, July 20, 2017, Lot #11, is also illustrated in Scrimshaw and Scrimshanders, Whales and Whalemen by E. Norman Flayderman (New Milford, Ct.: N. Flayderman & Co., Inc., 1972), p. 71 and 93 and Through the Eyes of a Collector by Nina Hellman (2015), fig. 5. The other was sold at the Marine Sale, July 22, 2011, Lot #623, and is illustrated in Wandering Whalemen and Their Art: A Collection of Scrimshaw Masterpieces by Alan Granby (Hyannis Port, Mass.: 2021), p. 115.

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August 4, 2022 9:30 AM EDT
East Dennis, MA, US

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