The top lot in the two-day sale was this scrimshaw sperm whale tooth with inlaid abalone and tortoiseshell, American, circa 1835-50; it surpassed estimates to achieve $47,250 ($30/40,000).
Review by Carly Timpson
EAST DENNIS, MASS. — For nautical art and scrimshaw collectors, Eldred’s August 8-9 auction was the place to be. The Marine Sale offered 657 lots from several important sources including scrimshaw and whaling objects from a Long Island, N.Y., estate collection, a historic Nantucket, Mass., collection and the Robert Hellman whaling and whalecraft collection. Realizing $1.44 million, the sale had a sell-through rate of 75 percent.
Earning the highest honors across the two-day sale was a scrimshaw sperm whale tooth with inlaid abalone and tortoiseshell accents. Bid to $47,250 and ultimately claimed by a private collector, the iridescent accents at the bottom of both sides of the tooth drew bidders’ interest, but the carving itself was masterful as well. According to Dr Stuart M. Frank, founder and director of Scrimshaw Forensics Laboratory (Foxborough, Mass.) and senior curator emeritus, New Bedford Whaling Museum (New Bedford, Mass.), the work was done by an American whaleman circa 1835-50 and was colored with lampblack and china ink. Frank’s authentication letter was included with the lot. The primary whaling scene, with a pod of whales, a large ship and several smaller vessels, wrapped around the tooth. The front primarily featured a large whaleship while the reverse was characterized by whales tossing men from their ships. Above the tumultuous scene were Masonic symbols and a ribbon-wrapped floral bouquet. A foliate band circled the base of the tooth, connecting the hexagonal abalone pieces.
Attributed to the “Banknote Engraver,” mid Nineteenth Century, this 7-inch scrimshaw whale’s tooth was carved with portrait of George Washington on one side and an outdoor scene with two women, a child and a dog on the other; it shot past its estimate range to achieve $32,760 ($12/15,000).
Other notable pieces of scrimshaw included well-known figures or images. One example, attributed to the “Banknote Engraver,” featured a highly detailed portrait of George Washington on the front. The bust of Washington was depicted in uniform, with a spread-wing eagle carrying a “Washington” banner above his head and with foliate garland surrounding the image. On the reverse, was a scene depicting “a child caught between two women, one of whom is seated beneath a tree and holding a dog. The image was probably based on a contemporaneous print, possibly an allegory for unconditional love or referencing the Judgment of Solomon,” per the auction catalog. The George Washington whale’s tooth more than doubled its high estimate, selling to an in-house buyer for $32,760.
Keeping with the patriotic theme, a polychrome carved tooth depicting Lady Liberty earned $25,000, selling to a private collector. Attributed to Samuel W. Tenney, the “King of the Sea” artist, the tooth included a “Patriotic scene of a spread-wing eagle, a colossus Lady Liberty, a monument and an American-flagged warship wraps around the circumference of the tooth.” In the eagle’s beak and wrapping around the tooth was a banner that read “Liberty And Freedom.” On the reverse side, the pictured American warship was possibly the U.S.S. Brandywine, on which Tenney served.
Nearly identical to an example illustrated in Scrimshaw on Nantucket: The Collection of the Nantucket Historical Association by Stuart M. Frank (Nantucket, Mass.: The Nantucket Historical Association, 2019), a whale’s tooth carved with an image of Mount Vernon and Washington’s tomb shot past its $6,000 high estimate to achieve $13,860, selling to a private in-house bidder. The carving, which was titled “Res. & Tomb of Washington. Mt. Vn.” beneath the image, was based on William Henry Capone’s engraving of William Henry Brook’s painting. Unique to this carving was the addition of a steamship flying an American flag on the Potomac River in the background.
This pair of polychrome scrimshaw whale’s teeth with portraits of women by Manuel Enos (1826-1915), mid Nineteenth Century, 5½ inches each, brought $28,980 ($25/35,000).
While not known to be based on historical figures, a pair of polychrome scrimshaw teeth by Manuel Enos impressed bidders, who took the set to $28,980 before selling to a private collector bidding on the phone. Both teeth depicted women wearing floral headpieces and colorful patterned dresses; one also includes a young child standing next to the woman. The pair was accompanied by an authentication letter from Frank that stated the works were done by Enos. The catalog noted that a similar pair of Enos carvings were part of the Thomas Mittler scrimshaw collection sold by Eldred’s in 2016 and illustrated in Nina Hellman’s 2015 text, Through the Eyes of a Collector. Other examples of Enos’ work can be found at the New Bedford Whaling Museum (New Bedford, Mass.) and the Cold Spring Harbor Whaling Museum and Education Center (Cold Spring Harbor, N.Y.).
A scrimshaw whale’s tooth with the inscribed title “Sperm Whaling,” was appropriately carved with a whaling scene but also included the patriotic symbolism of a Liberty eagle and, on the other side, a tableau with an American flag, Liberty shield, cannons and other weaponry was above a large ship. The patriotic whaling piece was shot down by a private collector for $26,460.
Carved with a depiction of a gunship with a British ensign on one side and the Daniel of London, aflame and colored with red sealing wax, on the other, a whale’s tooth attributed to the “Britannia Engraver” rose to $17,640. According to Paul Madden Antiques, scrimshaw and marine antiques specialists, “Daniel IV (proper name) was set on fire in the Pacific by mutineers on March 5, 1828; the captain, officers and crew were rescued by the London whaleships Elizabeth and Charles… The ‘Brittania Engraver’ (anonymous) is considered to be the earliest practitioner of scrimshaw and a major influence to Edward Burdett.” A berry vine circled the base of the tooth, and a dotted band wrapped around its tip. Cheryl Stewart, Eldred’s head of marketing, reported “There’s been some recent research regarding the identity of ‘Britannia Engraver’ by Mary Malloy, who presented at the annual Scrimshaw Symposium in New Bedford. She thinks it might be Captain William Buckle.”
“Dares’ Point, Herring Fishing Near Nova Scotia” by Jack Lorimer Gray (New York/Canada, 1927-1981), oil on canvas, 40 by 59 inches framed, went out at $36,540 ($30/40,000).
Another major category in the sale was ship portraits or marine art. The selection of paintings was led by Jack Lorimer Gray’s oil on canvas painting, “Dares’ Point, Herring Fishing Near Nova Scotia.” The work, housed in a gilt frame with a title and artist plaque, showed two fishermen at work aboard a small dory. Affixed to the reverse were labels for Quester Gallery, Stonington, Conn., and the Mary Burrichter and Robert Kierlin Collection, “a premier and substantial private collection of Nineteenth and Twentieth Century American and European paintings,” according to the auction catalog. The action-packed fishing scene was caught by a private collector, bidding in the room, for $36,540.
“Columbia vs. Shamrock,” a moody racing scene by contemporary maritime artist Timothy Thompson, finished second in the category, making $35,280 against a high estimate of just $12,000. A private collector, bidding in person, won the race for this painting.
Depicting the fishing schooner Stiletto racing back to the port with her catch, “Driving to Market” by Thomas Maclay Hoyne brought $27,720. A label affixed verso read “The Stiletto (1910-1930) was a McManus semi-knockout fisherman and brought in her share of mackerel and halibut. Supply and demand created the highest price for the first fresh fish brought to market. Consequently, schooners raced back to port with their ‘trip.’ The Stiletto stranded on a sand bar off New Jersey in April 1930 and was a total loss.” The work was signed and dated “Tom Hoyne 1981” to the lower left.
“Boston Pilot Boat” by Thomas Maclay Hoyne (American, 1924-1989), acrylic on canvas, 25 by 31 inches framed, made $18,900 ($15/20,000).
Another work by Hoyne, “Boston Pilot Boat,” brought $18,900. The boat in the portrait bears the number “7” on its sails and, according to Eldred’s, there were four pilot boat number sevens in Boston. Based on the information they had received about the work and its subject, the boat in this painting was believed to be the Friend. The reverse of the frame held labels from Mystic Maritime Gallery (Mystic, Conn.), the 2005 exhibition “Fishing on the Grand Banks: The Marine Art of Thomas Hoyne” at Independence Seaport Museum (Philadelphia) and the Philadelphia-based Conservation Center for Art and Historic Artifacts.
While they did not fit neatly within the previously mentioned categories, a set of eight Nantucket baskets did fit neatly within each other. In graduated sizes ranging from 4 by 4¾ inches to 9 by 13½ inches, the nest of baskets were attributed to Andrew Jackson Sandsbury (1830-1902), who is considered one of the leading Nantucket basket makers. Each of the round baskets had an oak swing handle with brass ears and a hardwood base. The set went out at $26,460.
A carved wooden figurehead of a woman, in two pieces to wrap around a ship’s hull, had foliate trailboards. The auction catalog described the figure, writing that the woman had “delicate, refined facial features, giving her both beauty and a sense of innocence, long hair reaching to the small of her back, and a short-sleeved V-neck gown that drapes elegantly across her body. Her right hand, on the starboard side, rests across her heart, and the left hand, on the port side, is at her side, holding the folds of her skirt. The hands are carved with the same detail and proportions of her face, with even the fingernails clearly delineated. Foliate and scroll carvings begin at her waist and continue the length.” A phone bidder took her home for $22,680.
Prices quoted include the buyer’s premium as reported by the auction house. Eldred’s Maritime Art & Americana auction will be September 12-13. For information, www.eldreds.com or 508-385-3116.
