Photojournalist Michael Jones recently visited Newport Scrimshanders, where owner and artist Brian Kiracofe provided a lesson on the nautical art of scrimshaw. The folk art has a rich history in New England tied to the whaling trade.
This conversation has been edited for length and clarity. The full interview can be found here
What is scrimshaw?
Scrimshaw is the art of engraving on ivory or bone.
How did it originate?
The sailors were at sea hunting the whale for oil. Two to five years was an average voyage. In their downtime between the hunts, they would scrape down a whale tooth with their jackknife, sand it with shark skin, buff the tooth with a shammy and get it somewhat polished enough that they could scratch a design. They would then rub paint over it.
What scenes would they engrave into the teeth?
The earliest scrimshaw onboard whale ships, especially on whale teeth, were mostly scenes that they saw every day, but they also did designs that were reminding them of home. You see a number of women on whale teeth, and you can date it almost by the attire that they were wearing. Often the sailor would take a picture from a magazine, lay it out on a whale tooth, put little pinpricks into that like a connect-the-dot type of idea, and then come back and do the engraving.
How did scrimshaw become popular so many years after the end of the whaling industry?
In the 1960s, President Kennedy was a scrimshaw collector. There are photographs of him in the Oval Office and a whale tooth on (his) desk. It was said that Jackie Kennedy was buying pieces for him for his collection. He was buried with a scrimshaw piece, and then the art became much more popular when people realized that he was a major collector.
“You are the owner of “Newport Scrimshanders” on Bowen’s Wharf. How long have you been there?
I’ve been there 38 years. We sell mostly my artwork. I have other artists that I work with that specialize more in working on whale teeth. I like to work in miniature, so I do a lot of the jewelry, pocket knives and cufflinks for me. I do pendants, earrings, and bracelets for women.
What goes into crafting a piece of scrimshaw?
When I’m doing a piece, often I’ll look at the ivory and based on the grain pattern, that’ll help determine what design I’m doing. And from that point, it’s just a free-hand engraving, scratching the design. When I’m finished, I rub a paint over it, wipe the paint off, and there’s the design. It takes a lot of manual dexterity and focus. I found I do better work when I can sit at my workbench and have no distractions.
What do you think draws people to this particular art form?
Scrimshaw has an appeal because of the history. Very uniquely American. It’s called one of the few original American folk arts. A certain number of people will always like the history, that this was something that started in America. It’s a very unique art form and I think people will always be interested in it as a folk art.
