Eagle and Snake Crimper

Date19th Century

Mediumwhale ivory, baleen, steel, unidentified

Dimensions2 1/8 in., 8 1/8 in. (5.4 cm, 20.6 cm)

Donor credit lineAcquired from Frank and Annie Seabury Wood

Object number1923.7.81

Institutional Credit LineCourtesy of the New Bedford Whaling Museum

DescriptionHandle comprised of four pieces of whale ivory, separated by three bands of tortoise shell; the endmost piece (pommel) carved as openwork in an onion-dome-shaped outline, framing the full-round-carved sculptural form of an eagle, with wings semi spread, perched on a branch; the seven component parts of the handle forming a rounded (cylindrical) shaft, of which the outer rim of shaft and pommel is full-round-carved in the form of a snake (serpent), with the head facing the foreshaft and wheel, the body looped around the pommel, and the tail on the lower side of the shaft facing the foreshaft and wheel (oriented 180 degrees from the head); curved whale ivory foreshaft, separated from the shaft by a band of metal (almost certainly a shaved down coin), with scallopped saddle; inset with a small rectangle of unidentified material (definitely not baleen or antler or tortoise shell; appears to be mineral, and is in any case slightly glittery); fluted wheel; ferrous metal axle (may be a replacement).

On View

On view