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What is Scrimshaw?
   
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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
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a few indigenous American crafts. While other cultures aroundTasty Christmas: Food Gifts
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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 mens 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 collectors 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.