A Fine Engraved and Scrimshawed Whale Ivory, Baleen and Whale Teeth Watch Stand, probably American, third quarter 19th Century

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Description

height 7 in.; length 7.5 in.
17.8 cm; 19.1 cm

the watch stand flanked by a pair of whales’ teeth engraved with whaling ships and centering an oculus engraved with a lighthouse and trimmed with tortoise shell, the whole on a shaped base inlaid with baleen stars and diamonds.

Provenance

E. Norman Flayderman, New Milford, Connecticut
Sotheby's, New York, Fine Americana, Scrimshaw and Allied Artifacts from the Whaling Collection of Judith Ellis, June 17, 1998, lot 758

Exhibited

E. Norman Flayderman, Scrimshaw and Scrimshanders, 1972, p. 213

Catalogue Note

Watch stands were probably made by captains and other officers who had the space to create and store larger scrimshaw items. Used on a night table, the watch stand held his pocketwatch when it was not being carried. At home, the watch stand served as a daily reminder of his time passed chasing the great whales of the world.