Serpent Crimper

Date19th Century

Mediumwhale ivory, tortoise shell, antler, metal

Dimensions3 1/8 × 1 1/2 × 10 1/8 in. (7.9 × 3.8 × 25.7 cm)

Object number1923.7.49

Institutional Credit LineCourtesy of the New Bedford Whaling Museum

DescriptionHandle is a tooth full-round carved in the form of a snake (serpent) wrapped around a tapered stiletto, with a full coil, the eyes and two nostrils engraved and pigmented; shank is four bands of tortoise shell and two bands of whale ivory flanking a wide band of antler; foreshaft of whale ivory branches into a two-prong (two-tine) fork below, and a curved saddle carved in the form of an animal head (swan? deer?), supporting a double-fluted wheel with pierced work hub (six circles), and terminates in two bands of tortoise shell and one of whale ivory, surmounted by a flat, butter-knife-blade-shaped cutter or spreader. The snake coil is almost broken through at the point of juncture with the stileto; one of the saddle arms is broken through (with a very old repair), remaining attached only by the non-ferrous metal axle.ProvenanceAcquired from Frank and Annie Seabury Wood

On View

Not on view