What is Scrimshaw?

American scrimshaw dates back to at least 100-200 AD in North America, practiced for centuries by native groups along the Northwest Coast. Not wanting to simply discard the teeth and bones of animals hunted for food, native cultures invented a new style of art that would later be known as Scrimshaw, one of only a few indigenous American crafts. While other cultures around the world, such as the Orient artists, certainly worked in ivory and bone, the style of North American cultures and that of the Yankee sailors who followed were uniquely their own, making scrimshaw a traditionally American art form. It was adopted by the Yankee whale men of the early 1800's. Two- to five-year voyages quickly became monotonous, so the whale men turned to working with baleen, whale teeth, and jawbones, all of which were in abundant supply. In fact, on many ships, whale teeth were part of the pay and were often traded in port for goods or services. The origin of the word is obscure; one interesting etymology is a Dutch phrase meaning "to waste one's time!" The term "scrimshaw" also applies to carved or pierced bone or ivory, since much of the whale men’s work was carved rather than etched.

Scrimshaw art is a slow and tedious process where one mistake can ruin an entire piece. Creating ivory sculpture or carving is equally unforgiving work. Scrimshaw is not an art form for the impatient. Each piece can take from 30 to over 900 hours to complete. Scrimshaw is usually defined as carving or embellishment of ivory or bone. Today's definition would more likely be thought of as the intricate incising of ivory to produce images of unbelievable detail. Incising and engraving could both describe the scrimshaw method. Extremely sharp scribes scratch the surface of the ivory, and then paint or ink is rubbed into the incisions. Stippling is a technique of employing thousands of tiny holes that are then carefully filled with pigment to reveal a beautiful work of art and to create the fine shading.

Today, Scrimshaw is still practiced by master scrimshanders (the scrimshaw artist) and their work is highly sought after and collected. Perhaps the most noted collector was President John F. Kennedy, who even displayed many of his most cherished pieces of ivory scrimshaw in the Oval Office of the White House. The greatest masters of the craft to have ever picked up a scribe are working today. Their techniques and the modern-day masterpieces they create have contributed greatly to the increasing collector’s value of this significant and historical American art form. This is the era of the finest masterpieces ever produced in scrimshaw.

No animals are harmed as the result of work by responsible scrimshanders. Most srimshaw is done on shed antler, bone, horn, legal elephant, antique piano keys and fossil ivories. The fossil ivory is from the ice age giant, the Wooly Mammoth, or ancient fossil mastodon or walrus tusk, making it ecologically ideal for the traditional 14th wedding anniversary gift of ivory. Horn scrimshaw is most often seen on black powder hunting horns. The rare and beautiful woods used by the artist are primarily black Ebony from harvest farms near Makassar on the island of Sulawesi Selatan, Indonesia, and equally magnificent Ironwoods from the African continent.

Scrimshaw combines the allure of history, fine art, and heritage making it not only a potentially valuable investment but an investment in our heritage. It links us with cave art to modern pieces and with extinct creatures. Maybe the value scrimshaw collectors see far surpasses the dollar.

About the Author

Elly Kendall resides in Arizona and is owner of Log Cabin Fever Gifts & Decor (http://cabinfevergifts.com). Any inquiries or questions about this article should be e-mailed to info@cabinfevergifts.com.
Copyright © 2005 Log Cabin Fever Gifts
All Rights Reserved.