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Scrimshaw is the art of fashioning objects from or engraving pictures on bone or ivory. Its roots can be traced back to the 17th century Dutch whalers, but scrimshaw as it is known today began with the American whalemen of the 19th century. Clifford Ashley, in his classic book The Yankee Whaler, called scrimshaw "the only important indigenous folk art, except that of the Indians, we have ever had in America." Prior to 1820 most of the teeth taken from sperm whales were used as items of barter with south pacific islanders who prized them highly. But, by 1820 there was such a glut of teeth, they had lost their value as trade items. It was at this point that purely decorative scrimshaw, i.e. the engraving of scenes on teeth, bone, and baleen, came into being. Whaling voyages lasted on average three to five years, and months could pass between whale sightings. Whale ships were typically over-manned in order to handle the boats and the processing of whales. But, there was only so much shipboard work to keep a crew of thirty occupied. Scrimshaw became the most popular channel for pent-up energy, both physical and creative. It provided something for the otherwise bored men to do, and served as a check valve for emotional pressure. Some of the pieces were kept as mementos, trophies of the hunt, but much of the work was intended as gifts for friends and loved ones ashore. With the passing of the Yankee whaling industry, scrimshaw went into decline, with few practitioners, until John Kennedy was elected President and the public became aware of his scrimshaw collection. A collecting frenzy for antique scrimshaw was set in motion. Contemporary artists began to turn to scrimshaw and the art form experienced a renaissance. Like the scrimshanders of old, this new generation of scrimshaw artists engraved their pictures on whale ivory and bone. With the enacting of The Endangered Species Act of 1973, whale ivory became a highly restricted commodity. In 1989, African elephant ivory also had tight restrictions placed on it. Much of the ivory used by the scrimshanders of today are the ancient or "fossil" ivories. These include the ivory of the extinct woolly mammoth and ancient tusks of pacific walrus. Ironically, like many of the creatures from which the ivory comes, scrimshaw is endangered. The supply of ivory is finite and dwindling. This current generation of scrimshaw artists will, in all probability, be the last. But, this is also the time when some of the finest scrimshaw ever is being produced. If you are a collector who values truly beautiful and unique works of art, then read on about the scrimshaw work of Robert Weiss. Please visit The Gallery and the other informative areas on this site. Thank you for stopping by, and enjoy. If you'd like to learn how a
piece of scrimshaw is created, follow this link to the
Technique page. |
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Weiss.
© 2006 Robert Weiss - Marinearts.com.
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