SOLD FOR $46,200
Polychrome Scrimshaw Sperm Whale Tooth by the Britannia Engraver (1816-1830)
of The Ship “Elizabeth of London,” deeply carved, engraved and inked with red polychrome highlights, the obverse depicts a very active whaling scene with seven whales, one with attached waif, manned whaleboats and a capsized whaleboat. Inscribed beneath in scrip “Elizabeth of London”; the reverse with the same starboard broadside view of a full-rigged ship underway, under plain sail flying a British merchant ensign and “cutting-in” a sperm whale. The tip with foliate wreaths, the base with double lines and dots.
Length 6 in. Width at Base 2 in.