Sperm whale's teeth scrimshaw

Artists unknown, c1800s
Ink on whale tooth
Bequest of Sir William Dixson, 1952
DR 40

Scrimshaw is the craft of carving pictures or patterns into bone, teeth, horn, shell or other suitable materials. While its origins are unknown, the technique became popular onboard whaling ships, where the tools, the materials and the time were readily at hand.

Scrimshaw features a wide range of images, often traced by pinpricking from books and journals. Especially common however are scenes of whaling and marine life. These examples show whalers at work. On one tooth, men in a longboat are harpooning a whale. On the other, a whale is being hauled onboard the ship, where its valuable blubber and skin will be stripped, or flensed.