Sold Walrus Tooth Fossil Scrimshaw Art by Doug Fine

Purchased in Lahaina, Maui in Spring of 1980 from an authorized dealer.

The Whalers Locker is a shop established on the island in 1971 and still a leading authority in Scrimshaw, sadly they like so many in Maui have been impacted by the devastating fires and are closed.

This is a fine article of American Folk art produced on an ancient fossilized walrus tooth.
Works by the artist Doug Fine are highly collected and he has trained his sons in this dying art started by the early American Whalers.

'With long periods of time on their hands between one whale and the next on what could be as much as three years or more at sea, Yankee sailors took up the art form as a way to pass the time. But at sea, the only ivory and bone available to them were from the whales they hunted. This nautical expression of the art form soon passed from ship to ship and it was not long before scrimshaw was introduced to coastal native cultures in Alaska, who immediately embraced the art form.' This excerpt was taken from 'Scrimshaw Studio' indepth information on the history of scrimshaw.

This fossilized walrus tooth material has value in itself as a resource that is finite and quickly disappearing.
It was sourced from Alaska following highly
regulated practices.

Fossil walrus tooth is very old, ranging from 300 to 3000 years in age. It is dug out of the Alaskan permafrost in August and September. It is a popular canvas for scrimshaw and is also used for tools and symbolic objects.

Documentation shows legal
acquisition of the piece.

Pickup DetailsScheduled by seller.
Minimum $150 purchase to be eligible for local pickup.