WHALE AND SEA CAPTAIN

Executed in Westport, Massachusetts circa 1850.  Made for Captain Peleg Cornell of Westport, Massachusetts. 

Fred Giampietro, New Haven, Connecticut;
Sotheby's, New York, The Barbara Johnson Whaling Collection, Part I, December 11-12, 1981, lot 311

Frank Maresca and Roger Ricco, American Vernacular (Boston: Bulfinch Press, Little, Brown and Company, 2002), pp. 276 (frontispiece) and pp. 290.

Splits and cracks and losses overall consistent with age and use. The tip of the whale’s tail has been restored.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

The finial comprises a sheet copper ship's captain standing on a four-draw telescope standard.

Sperm whales, immortalized in the character of Herman Melville’s Moby Dick, are the largest toothed predator of modern oceans and have the largest brain of any creature that has ever lived. They were highly sought by New England whalers, both for their oily blubber and spermaceti, a pearly white liquid wax found in their heads, which is prized for its ability to make superior candles and lubricants. This unique vane, which accurately portrays a sperm whale and the tools of a captain who sought these leviathans, was clearly made by someone with intimate knowledge of both these remarkable mammals and the whaling trade.