Fenelon Busk

Date19th Century

Mediumwhale skeletal bone

Dimensions1 5/8 × 12 7/8 in. (4.1 × 32.7 cm)

Donor credit lineKendall Whaling Museum Collection Transfer

Object number2001.100.1044

Institutional Credit LineCourtesy of the New Bedford Whaling Museum

DescriptionPolychrome engraved one side only. Both ends arched with square corners. Vignettes (top to bottom): Angel holding a scroll inscribed "Love"; starboard broadside view of a full-rigged ship under full sail, inscribed in a riband "Fenelon", flying an ensign (USA?) at the taffrail, swallowtail pennant at the fore, long pennant at the main, square house flag at the mizen; cursive inscription "When this you see / Remember me", with two arrows, in a scroll frame; spread eagle with arrows and olive branches in its talons, surmounting a harp (Celtic harp) ornamented with a carved human figure and leafy garlands (a deferential symbol of Ireland); a basket of flowers on a table with tablecloth, two cut roses, and a knife. Vignettes surmounted and separated by geometric designs. Engraving technique in places is chased, much like engraving on silver or baleen.

The ship Fenelon of New Bedford completed seven (possibly eight) whaling voyages between 1833 and 1847; the ship was condemned and sold on the eighth (ninth) voyage in 1848, but it is not known on which voyage the busk originated.ProvenanceWilliam Kranzler, New Bedford 08/19/1965 $200.00

On View

On view