Thing of the Past!

Once in a while..ok, quite often..I come across something in the Little Bayou House that I have completely forgotten that I own. There is just that much "stuff" in here! Some of it is treasure! A lot of it is "not so much treasure". Today, however, I found a treasure! One that I had tucked away in a safe place and promptly forgot that I had. It was a pleasant surprise and one that caused a good bit of thinking! I found a walking cane that was passed down to me years ago. As long as I remember, this cane was housed in an old barrel with a dozen or so other walking sticks and a few yardsticks! My parents always had this collection of canes sitting in one room or another just gathering dust so now, it is gathering dust in my house..(just not in a wooden nail keg!). What makes this cane so special, you might ask? Scrimshaw! The handle of the cane is ivory and it has quite an interesting bit of etching on it. I am pretty certain from the subject matter, this scrimshaw is done on a walrus tusk or piece of whalebone. Since it is very, very old, the cane was created before bans on ivory. The overall shape is a seal and on one side, there is a picture of a seal on what appears to be an ice floe. If you flip the cane over, there is an etching of a hunter in an umiak. I think it is a rather interesting account of the hunting methods of perhaps the Eskimo people back at least a century ago.

Scrimshaw, for those who have not deciphered from the above, is the art of etching or carving ivory or bone. It was a popular pastime for sailors back years and years ago. (Now, most leisure time for all of us is taken up by such mind-numbing things as television, computers and other electronic devices.) Back before our time was taken up with such nonsense, artisans were busy creating fascinating pieces of art. Scrimshaw was one of those fantastic art forms! The walrus tusks and whalebone pieces were plentiful and with time, patience and talent, beautiful work was created. The detail that the scrimshanders put in each piece is amazing! The tusk or bone had to be smoothed at first with a knife, then "sanded" to a soft touch with a piece of sharkskin or pumice. A piece was then carved into shape..mine is a seal. Then the etching would be done with a knife or sail needle. Those who were fortunate enough to obtain a needle were able to create finer detail. Periodically, soot or ground gun powder mixed with whale oil was rubbed over the piece to bring out the grooves of the etchings. A final polishing with a soft cloth would give the piece a glorious satiny finish. Although this seems like a quick undertaking, some of the scrimshaw pieces took months and months to complete.

I set the cane back in place and decided that I needed to do a bit of research on just how to care for the ivory. I am sure that over the years, dust and humidity might have done some damage even though none is apparent. What a treasure..what talent..what a wonderful tribute to creativity! This art form is one that is not followed much these days and the scrimshanders of today are bound to different mediums than ivory. Some have even resorted to composite materials. I am quite sure that the current scrimshanders have a difficult time competing with the quality of work of those from days past. And to think...the older pieces were done entirely with whatever tool and material was handy!