Sea Horse Jagging Wheelc. 18702 3/4 x 6 x 1 1/2 " (7 x 15.2 x 3.8 cm)Whale ivory and ebony with silver pinsGift of Ralph Esmerian2013.1.530scrimshaw elongated animal figure, possibly seahorse or unicorn, with furled tail and extended back legs. Front legs raised and grasping crenillated crimping wrapped with ebony band, ebony eyes. Legs with open space between.1547423896P1.2001.306Artist unidentifiedTools and EquipmentThe American Folk Art Museum believes this work to be in the public domain. United StatesThree Dimensional WorkseMuseum - Collection HighlightsRobert Bishop and Jacqueline Marx Atkins, Folk Art in American Life (New York: Viking Studio Books, 1995), p172, fig. 221
Jean Lipman, Robert Bishop, Elizabeth V. Warren, and Sharon L. Eisenstat, Five-Star Folk Art: One Hundred American Masterpieces (New York: Harry N. Abrams, Inc. in association with the Museum of American Folk Art, 1990), p143, fig. 87
similar: Jean Lipman and Alice Winchester, The Flowering of American Folk Art, 1776-1876 (New York: Viking Press, 1974), p256, fig. 358 (New Bedford Whaling Museum)
similar: Robert Bishop, American Folk Sculpture (New York: E.P. Dutton & Co., Inc., 1974), fig. 177 (New Bedford Whaling Museum)
similar: Sotheby's sale 5551 Jan 87 lot 1132
similar: Sotheby Parke Bernet sale 5130 "Barbara Johnson Whaling Collection Part IV" Dec 83 lot 643Many whalers preferred the jagging wheel–or pie crimper–as a showcase for their originality. A common kitchen device with a crenellated wheel to trim and perforate pie crusts, it may have been made by scrimshanders in response to a longing for home and decent food. The clenched fist jagging wheel, with a two-pronged fork for testing pie crust, is almost weaponlike. Fists were sometimes carved with the thumb aligned with the fingers, a position said to connote friendship. This scrimshander, however, used the traditional defiant clenched fist. The dainty handle of the open heart jagging wheel was cleverly carved from a single sperm whale tooth, and its heart-shaped terminus strongly suggests that it was intended as a gift for a loved one. A master carver fashioned the handle of the hand and cuff jagging wheel from a single piece of walrus ivory; the cuff buttons are made with nail heads. The strongly masculine quality of the piece belies the delicate task for which the utensil was designed. And the glorious sea horse jagging wheel transcends its utilitarian purpose and exemplifies the art of scrimshaw at its most elegant and refined. The sea horse, a common motif in nautical arts, is unusual in scrimshaw.
Kenneth R. Martin, "Sea Horse Jagging Wheel," in Stacy C. Hollander, American Radiance: The Ralph Esmerian Gift to the American Folk Art Museum (New York: Harry N. Abrams in association with American Folk Art Museum, 2001), 532.
Object information is a work in progress and may be updated with new research. Records are reviewed and revised, and the American Folk Art Museum welcomes additional information.
To help improve this record, please email photoservices@folkartmuseum.orgP1.2001.30618651875 2013 1 53 Many whalers preferred the jagging wheel–or pie crimper–as a showcase for their originality. A common kitchen device with a crenellated wheel to trim and perforate pie crusts, it may have been made by scrimshanders in response to a longing for home and decent food. The clenched fist jagging wheel, with a two-pronged fork for testing pie crust, is almost weaponlike. Fists were sometimes carved with the thumb aligned with the fingers, a position said to connote friendship. This scrimshander, however, used the traditional defiant clenched fist. The dainty handle of the open heart jagging wheel was cleverly carved from a single sperm whale tooth, and its heart-shaped terminus strongly suggests that it was intended as a gift for a loved one. A master carver fashioned the handle of the hand and cuff jagging wheel from a single piece of walrus ivory; the cuff buttons are made with nail heads. The strongly masculine quality of the piece belies the delicate task for which the utensil was designed. And the glorious sea horse jagging wheel transcends its utilitarian purpose and exemplifies the art of scrimshaw at its most elegant and refined. The sea horse, a common motif in nautical arts, is unusual in scrimshaw.
Kenneth R. Martin, "Sea Horse Jagging Wheel," in Stacy C. Hollander, American Radiance: The Ralph Esmerian Gift to the American Folk Art Museum (New York: Harry N. Abrams in association with American Folk Art Museum, 2001), 532.
Object information is a work in progress and may be updated with new research. Records are reviewed and revised, and the American Folk Art Museum welcomes additional information.
To help improve this record, please email photoservices@folkartmuseum.org