Sewing Stand with Mirror

Date19th Century

Mediumwood, whale skeletal bone, whale ivory, baleen

Dimensions20 1/4 × 12 1/2 × 9 1/2 in. (51.4 × 31.8 × 24.1 cm)

Donor credit lineKendall Whaling Museum Collection Transfer

Object number2001.100.681

Institutional Credit LineCourtesy of the New Bedford Whaling Museum

DescriptionOrnate sewing work box and spool holder in the form of a chest of drawers or dressing table with mirror (absent); constructed of mahogany and trimmed with panbone (whale skeletal bone). Lower section consists of two drawers with drawer pulls turned from whale ivory, and whale ivory escutcheons. Upper level has one drawer, pendant loop pulls and escutcheons of whale ivory, and whale ivory diamond-shaped inlays. Top has same repeating pattern of whale ivory diamond-shaped inlays, also baleen inlay; surmounted by a mirror framed in wood with the same repeating pattern of walrus ivory diamond- shaped inlays. The mirror is in the drawer of the unit. Lower level pilasters, vertical columns serving as mirror mounts, and spool holders are turned and carved from whale skeletal bone and trimmed with whale ivory, with minor polychrome engraved floral ornaments (red and green). Ensemble rests on four legs turned from whale ivory (1 missing). Conservation completed by Jim Vaccarino, October 2016ProvenanceRobert Eldred, East Dennis, Mass. circa 1958, Kendall Whaling Museum; New Bedford Whaling Museum

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