The Art of Scrimshaw
The
art of scrimshaw started on board whaling ships of the late 18th century
and early 19th century. Whale men carved whales teeth as a way to prevent
boredom on long whaling trips. The finished pieces of art became gifts
to loved ones at home, or for trading in other countries. This art soon
became forgotten but very few artists still keep it alive in New England,
Nantucket, Hawaii, and other coastal ports. Nantucket Island was the whaling
capitol of the world in the 19th century, and it is only right that the
art of scrimshaw should survive there. The tools that the whale men would
use were their knives, needles, or other tools as scribes to "scrim" onto
the whale bone. Today, special scribes made of tungsten carbide, and even
high speed (dental) drills and (in industrial manufacture of scrimshaw)
lasers are employed. Even though scrimshaw is an old art it is still practiced
today's artists.
For
more information about scrimshaw click here.
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