This scrimshaw and ivory collection was collected by my mother-in-law, who was a teacher and world traveler. She lived in the Azores for many years, collecting these pieces from the local artists... one of whom was her lover. They have always been in our family, and were acquired in the 1970s.
This elephant ivory carving is from her father's world-wide travel collection, so it has been in the family much longer, and is of unknown origin. He and several of his 7 siblings traveled and lived all over the world, from the late 1800s through the late 1960s.
