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6117
Mid-19th Century
IMPRESSIVE SCRIMSHAW MANTEL ORNAMENT BY THE FANNING ISLAND ARTIST
One of only three known examples by the Fanning Island Artist, recently identified as David Leander Williston (1823-1899) by Dr. Stuart Frank, Senior Curator Emeritus of the New Bedford Whaling Museum and founder of the Scrimshaw Forensics Laboratory. Mantel ornament comprised of a pair of walrus tusks and a pair of whale's teeth mounted on a demilune wooden base with a shaped whalebone backsplash and incised whalebone feet. Tusks and teeth with polychrome engraved garland bands at tips and full-length figural portraits, most theatrical. Backsplash polychrome engraved with a floral sprig, a spread-wing eagle with olive branches and a striped shield, and a portrait of Washington on horseback, sourced from a Currier & Ives print. Top of base with two shell panels, whale ivory and whalebone trim, and a central dark panel, probably baleen. Front of base with baleen veneer, a baleen and whale ivory mount at center, and two turned whale ivory pulls, simulating a drawer.
Total height 24". Width 14.75". Depth 5.75".
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. **
Typical age lines and expected signs of age and wear, but generally well-preserved. Trim on top of base shows evidence of restoration.
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.
Typical age lines and expected signs of age and wear, but generally well-preserved. Trim on top of base shows evidence of restoration.
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.
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Provenance:
William K. Morgan (1821-1886), a California Gold Rush merchant who purchased it on a speculation trip to Fanning Island in 1852.
Descended through the family of William K. Morgan until the 1980s.
A Los Angeles Collector.
A Private Collection.
Notes:
William K. Morgan, a sailor from New Haven, Connecticut, set out to make his fortune during the California Gold Rush. Like many "Forty-Niners", Morgan was soon nearly broke, and he then decided to travel to the South Pacific to purchase coconuts and pigs to bring back to California and resell to the miners. During this speculation trip he stopped in January 1852 at Fanning Island, a popular port for whalers to acquire provisions while traveling between the Sandwich Islands and New Zealand. Here he met a "Crusoe-like" character from whom he purchased this mantel ornament.
Morgan returned to California with his mantel ornament, coconuts and pigs, made very little money from his wares, shipped the mantel ornament home to Connecticut, and eventually returned home himself to take up farming.
The "Crusoe-like" character Morgan encountered has been identified by Dr. Stuart Frank as David Leander "Delia" Williston, a whaleman from Rhode Island. Following an 1843-1846 voyage aboard the New Bedford brig Sarah Louise , Williston sailed on the ship Logan , which departed New Bedford in 1847. Crew lists for that voyage, which lasted until 1851, indicate Williston abandoned ship, probably around 1850. He apparently married a Kanaka woman and made his way to Fanning Island. Records show he had returned to the mainland and was living in San Francisco in 1875, where he remained until his death in 1899.
A presentation on the Fanning Island Artist was given at the 2012 Scrimshaw Weekend symposium and an article in the Winter/Spring 2020 issue of the Scrimshaw Observer discusses Dr. Frank's research that led to the Williston identification. Another example by the Fanning Island Artist is in the New Bedford Whaling Museum collection and a mantel ornament similar to this one is illustrated in Wandering Whalemen and Their Art: A Collection of Scrimshaw Masterpieces by Alan Granby (Hyannis Port, Mass.:, 2021), p. 268, fig. 14.51. Some research notes accompany the lot.
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August 8, 2024 9:30 AM EDT
East Dennis, MA, US
Eldred's
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