Excerpt
SCRIMSHAW
Scrimshaw is an art born of boredom and loneliness on the whaling ships of the 19th century and links the Azores to many countries. Ships crews would while away their time engraving on whales teeth, and then rubbing lamp black into the lines to bring up the design. In the Azores this tradition continued, using the teeth taken from whales killed off the islands and brought ashore for processing. It has all but disappeared because time passes and also the supply of teeth is diminishing. Ten years ago divers could still find them on the seabed near old whaling stations on Pico and on Madeira but now such finds are rare.
Modern artists sand down the tooth ridges, then use car polish to coat the tooth. A layer of Indian ink is applied to blacken the surface to be engraved. Machine-powered needles are used to engrave through the ink, the polish, and into the tooth. The engraved lines appear white and Indian ink is then applied a second time and this time it enters the unwaxed lines that form the design. The first coat of black is then removed. Prices vary of modern pieces in traditional style from 50 to 1,250 euros.