This is a sailor-scrimshawed, 23-inch x 19-inch x 7-inch, full sea turtle carapace (shell). There are eleven separate scenes, each on their own shell plate. There are two southern hemisphere birds at the top, and five northern hemisphere mammals at the bottom, each on their own panel. Down the center are six individual initials: four in English; one in Hebrew; and one in an Oriental script. I speculate that the six initials represent a six-man longboat crew, and that each man scribed the two images on the costal scutes (lateral shell plates) both sides of their initials. The bottom "tail" panel has a "T" the imposed on an "A". I speculate that these are the initials of the captain's name, or of the ship's name.
Based on ship riggings depicted, the scrimwork has been dated between 1820 to 1850. Since this scrimwork was purchased in England, I speculate that the images of ships at anchor may depict the "Bay of Islands" of the North Island of New Zealand, which was a favorite provisioning and repair location for British & American whalers in the early 19th Century. Ships often lay at anchorage for weeks at a time, undergoing repairs, waiting-out bad weather or a change in the wind. Sometimes a captain was just waiting until native-cultivated crops (potatoes, citrus, onions, etc.) fully ripened before taking shipboard as provisions, prior to a long voyage home, or to northern hemisphere whaling grounds.
Image #1: Based on the number of costal scutes (lateral shell plates), I believe this to be an Olive Ridley sea turtle (www.seagrantfish.lsu.edu/pdfs/teds/TurtleID.pdf) found in tropical waters of the Pacific, Indian, and South Atlantic Oceans.
Image #2: Upper half of carapace. Note top initials of RB, just above Hebrew initials, above Oriental initials.
Image #3: Lower half of carapace.
Image #4: Upper left quadrant.
Image #5: Upper right quadrant.
Image #6: Lower right quadrant.
Image #7: Close-up #1 of two panels.
Image #8: Close-up #2 of two panels.
Image #9: Northern Hemisphere Mammals, left to right: sleeping sea lion; standing Polar bear; sitting (Inuit) sled dog; reclining walrus; and swimming Narwhal.
Image #10: Southern Hemisphere Birds, left to right: Penguin (islands around Antarctica); Dodo bird, extinct since the late-1600s (Mauritius Island, off the eastern coast of Africa).
The Dodo image is be based on circa 1601 drawings, circa 1626 paintings, & museum reconstructions, viewable in mid-Victorian English literature. We now know that this image is of a single over-fed, extremely fat Dodo bird, kept in a Dutch zoo in the late 1500s.
I believe that more animals were supposed to be added in adjacent scutes, but for some reason, never finished.
Antique and Antique Collecting
Antiques have always lured those with a passion for the past and its cultural significance. Antique collecting though is a serious hobby which requires the hobbyist to posses a great deal of information on the history and other correlating facts if they are to land a reasonable purchase. Most often if not antiques make their way into the mainstream market via simple garage sales, auction houses etc. wherein the owner would have overlooked the significance of these precious collectables.
A reflection and testimony of the glorious past, Antiques are undoubtedly rare. Perhaps that is why Antiques have been collected and preserved for over thousands of years as a souvenir and tribute to what has been and gone. After all, those heard are sweet, but those unheard are sweeter!
Antique collecting has been in the books since the 16th century, gaining momentum through the 18th century to grow into what is now a healthy international business thats on par with the art industry. Some individuals prefer to collect antiques from a specific era, while most are into specific objects and aim at a timeline based collection such as vintage cars or clocks from the 1950s for example. The purchase of antiques is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the effort that goes into their maintenance. Most objects would be anywhere in the range of 50 to 100 years old. The biggest culprit to an antiques degradation is exposure to natural elements, even the air in most cases!
Over the years, antique collecting has taken another curious twist as certain home décor trends these days reflect on a retro feel. For this reason a lot of long lost furniture and clothing styles from half a century ago have found their way back into the current world with small changes that help them amalgamate into the 21st century. This trend of commercially viable antiques has had a negative impact on the market as replicas of famous antiques have been making the rounds and authenticity issues are far too common. Examples for the same would be pendulum clocks, bone china and the 1970 – 1979 contemporary modern furniture.
When it comes to venturing towards a purchase, its best for an individual to take assistance from the nearest antique dealer organization as it would guarantee both its authenticity as well as cover any legalities. Most often the replica market supplies the same antiques at a much lower price and the buyer could suffer serious repercussions on purchasing from such sources as these pieces are not officially accounted for. Antique collecting needs to be met with diligence and maturity in order to successfully sustain the past in the present.
