Scrimshaw Gallery - Salman Rashidi

Scrimwork is entitled American Arctic Whaler, and is scribed on a broken Inuit ice axe made of fossil walrus ivory. The base is African Cocobola wood with a mammoth ivory button. The scene depicts the whaling bark "Navarch", trapped in the ice at Point Barrow, Alaska. Sails are hung out to dry in the still air. Sailors carry Remington rifles and harpoons, hunting for seals. The "Navarch" was launched in 1892, and was lost in 1897 near the most northern village in Alaska. She was abandoned, and most of her crew died on the ice. Backside shows antique tool marks. Dimensions are 6-in x 3.13-in x 2-in.

Entitled Boston Harbor at Dusk, this is a full-size, intact, Inuit sled runner made of fossil walrus ivory.   The base is made from African Cocobolo and ivory.  The scene depicts the Boston fishing market in the late 19th Century.  The natural color of the ivory was carefully utilized to create a dramatic evening scene.  Men are hoisting a large bucket of freshly caught fish out of a Dory.  Fishing schooner "Eagle" of Essex, Massachusetts ("Pinky" type of schooner, smaller size of its kind) is docking in this scene.  Also shown is the whaling bark "Lancer" of Newburyport, Massachusetts, arriving in harbor from her long whaling cruise.   Dimensions  are 16.75-in x 1.75-in x 0.75-in. depth

Entitled Catching a Breeze, this is an Inuit ice axe made of fossil walrus ivory, depicting the whaling bark "Wanderer" sailing from New Bedford, on a three-year cruise.  Men are going about their routine on the dock side, and an old captain watching the departure of a new generation of whaling vessels.  An old 19th century lantern from the artist's personal collection of antique New England lanterns was used as reference and placed in the scene.  Bark "Wanderer", was built in Mattapoisett, MA in 1878 and was the last square-rigged whaleship to sail from New Bedford. She was wrecked in 1924 on Cuttyhunk Island during a sever northeasterly storm that swept the Atlantic coast. Dimensions are 11.37-in x 2.25-in x 1.25-in.

Entitled Drying Sails, this is a wedge-shaped Inuit adze of fossil walrus ivory, which were used to chop big blocks of ice to build igloos.  The scene depicts the whaling bark “Sunbeam” in Mattapoisett, after a three-year whaling cruise. She departed in 1904, bound for the West Coast of Africa.  Captain Benjamin A. Higgins is seen observing his ship while the sails hung limp to dry.  Dimensions are 5-in x 2-in x 1-in.

Entitled Lagoda, this is a fossil ivory tip of a female walrus tusk. This scene depicts the whaling bark Lagoda awaiting a breeze during a whaling cruise. Lagoda was built in Scituate, Massachusetts in 1826, then converted to a whaler and registered at New Bedford in 1841.  She was ported in San Francisco between 1888-1889. Dimensions are 4-in x 1.5-in x 0.87-in.

Entitled Cutting In, this is an Inuit ice axe, made of walrus.  The scene depicts two mates on the stage, cutting blubber into strips, from a 40-foot Sperm whale, chained alongside the whaling bark “Charles W. Morgan”.  Note the usual swarm of sharks attacking the whale carcass.  The whaling Morgan was originally built as a ship, and registered in New Bedford in 1841.  The Morgan was recently re-rigged back to a ship, and is presently docked at Mystic Seaport. Dimensions are 6-in x 2.5-in x 1.63-in.

Entitled Race to the Market, this is an Inuit adze made of fossil walrus ivory.  This scene depicts two fishing schooners racing to port, where supply and demand created the highest price for the first fresh fish brought to market.  Masted schooner "Indiana", originally of Gloucester, MA had a long life seining (net fishing) and haddock fishing in the North Atlantic. She was sold to interests in Portland, Maine in 1911. Bass Harbor Lighthouse (Maine) is shown in the background. Dimensions are 5-in x 2.13-in x 1-in.

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