Antique Scrimshaw Friendship Whale Tooth

Antique Scrimshaw Friendship Whale Tooth, an engraved sperm whale tooth with legend “Andy and Jack, 1879” with two hands shaking, with anchors, star and a great sperm whale at bottom. The tooth has been mounted on a beveled mahogany plinth. This motif is unique in my experience: an emblem of friendship between two sailors – were they sailing on the same ship, or did they meet during a mid-ocean gam? Created in the honest, naive manner of a working sailor.

The artwork remains clear and legible. The tooth is in very good condition with only a hairline age check. The mounting is a little loose on the wooden stand, but secure and easily tightened.

This sailor’s folk art scrimshaw is engraved on the tooth of a sperm whale (Physeter macrocephalus), is well over 100 years old, is fully compliant with the Endangered Species Act (1973) and Marine Mammal Protection Act (1972), and is completely legal for interstate commerce under federal law.

Measures: 5-1/4 in H x 2-1/2 in W x 1-1/2 in Deep

The stand is 4 in Square and 7/8 in High