FINE AND IMPORTANT WHALE IVORY, EBONY AND COCONUT SHELL DIPPER Shell bowl elaborately carved with an American eagle clutching a "Uni...

FINE AND IMPORTANT WHALE IVORY, EBONY AND COCONUT SHELL DIPPER America, Dated 1871

Shell bowl elaborately carved with an American eagle clutching a "Union" shield above "On Board of the Whaling Bark Stafford - Sept. 1871" incorporated within an elaborate floral, foliate and bird design. Curved ebony handle inset with mother-of-pearl triangles flanking a rectangular whale ivory panel. Handle attached to bowl with a whale ivory elongated heart-form mount. Length 13".

Provenance:

Barbara Johnson Whaling Collection, Sotheby's New York, December 16-17, 1983, Lot #366. Described as "Perhaps the finest scrimshaw dipper to come to light; the relief-carved bowl is very unusual if not unique. The Bark Stafford was a Wing ship sailing from New Bedford in 1870 under Captain Moulton for the Indian Ocean, returning in 1873. The dipper was discovered in the middle west at a church fair."

Condition: Several fine cracks to the shell dipper.

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

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