EXTRAORDINARY CARVED, SCRIMSHAWED AND INLAID WHALE IVORY AND WHALEBONE CANE Whale ivory handle carved as a fist clenching a snake co...

EXTRAORDINARY CARVED, SCRIMSHAWED AND INLAID WHALE IVORY AND WHALEBONE CANE Mid-19th Century

Whale ivory handle carved as a fist clenching a snake coiled about the hand and wrist above a shirtsleeve. The snake has inlaid eyes, a visible forked tongue and deeply engraved scales, and the overlapping shirtsleeve has engraved trim and applied buttons. Whale ivory collar with carved braided rope design above baleen spacers and an inlaid harlequin pattern. Tapered whalebone shaft with silver metal and shell inlay in a sawtooth and tassel design separated by a harpoon- and a lance-shaped inlay in the same materials and two silver metal geometric inlay. Silver metal ferrule. The workmanship exhibited on this cane is of the highest caliber, from the accurate and lifelike rendering of the fingers and palms of the fist, to the exquisite precision of the shirtsleeve, to the delicacy of the inlaid tassel design. A truly exceptional example of whaleman art. Length 35".

Provenance:

The Barbara Johnson Whaling Collection.

Rafael Osona Auctions, August 9, 1994, Lot #147.

Important American Folk Art from the Collection of Ralph O. Esmerian, Sotheby's New York, January 25, 2014, Lot #724.

Exhibited: de Menil Gallery at Groton School, Groton, Massachusetts: "American Radiance: Highlights of the Ralph Esmerian Gift to the American Folk Art Museum," October 15-December 15, 2002.

South Street Seaport Museum, New York: "Compass: Folk Art in Four Directions", June 20-October 7, 2012.

Illustrated in American Radiance: The Ralph Esmerian Gift to the American Folk Art Museum (Harry Abrams Inc., 2001), p. 320 and 330.

Condition:

This item will not be shipped internationally without a CITES permit. Obtaining CITES and any other necessary permits is the obligation of the buyer.

Please contact Eldred''s 48 hours prior to the auction start time with condition report requests. Please do not bid on any item without reading the condition report. The absence of a condition report does NOT imply that an an object is free of defects or restoration. Please contact Eldred''s before bidding with any questions as to condition. Condition reports are provided as a complimentary service and only reflect the opinion of Eldred''s and should not be taken as a statement of fact. Condition reports only detail flaws or restorations and do not take into account wear, fading, or other issues consistent with an object''s age.