Tag: pre-embargo ivory

The Value of Scrimshaw

The Value of Scrimshaw

Color scrimshaw on whale's tooth "A Sailor's Life for Me""A Sailor's Life for Me" scrimshaw on whale's toothI’ve received a question regarding the value of a piece of scrimshaw done in the 20th century on a whale’s tooth, and I really don’t know the answer. I do scrimshaw, though I don’t collect it. A reader has a beautiful piece by P. Hayde, I believe, and wants to know how to figure its value so they may insure it. If there is a collector who could help them and similar collectors out with either a link or some good guidelines, I’ll be happy to post the information here, with or without your email as you see fit. It would be greatly appreciated.
Leave a reply in the box below to help your fellow collectors.

Thank you in advance,

Andrew Perkins

Identifying Ivory

I was set to create a long post about identifying ivory (there are many different types – just ask the tooth fairy) when I found this excellent pdf by CITES.org: http://www.cites.org/sites/default/files/eng/resources/pub/E-Ivory-guide.pdf.

The pdf is in black and white. Here are a couple of full color examples of pre-embargo elephant ivory, mammoth ivory and a “vegetable ivory” cross-cuts showing the Schreger lines in the ivories and the lack of them in the plant alternative (clicking on the image brings it up to full size):

Elephant Ivory Chunk from pre-embargo ivory showing Schreger lines
Elephant Ivory Chunk from pre-embargo ivory showing Schreger lines

 

Mammoth ivory showing Schreger lines
Mammoth ivory showing Schreger linesMammoth ivory

 

Ivory nut whole, halved and quartered
Ivory nut whole, halved and quartered