Catalogue for January 15th & 16th 2010
Lot 714 <previous next>
Estimated: $20000 - $30000
Realized Price: $18720
Important pair of Nathaniel S. Finney (1813-1879), scrimshaw walrus tusks, ca. 1870. The first with an oval portrait of Washington surmounted by a polychrome spread winged eagle and shield above a portrait of a gentleman above a variation of the Great Seal of the State of California with Liberty facing forward holding a polychrome shield with stars and stripes over another engraved portrait, possibly Leland Stanford above a floral and leaf border. The other tusk with a portrait of Lafayette surmounted by a polychrome spread winged eagle above a portrait over the Great Seal of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts above a portrait of a gentleman over an identical floral and leaf border. Both tusks are signed verso Engraved by N.S. Finney S.F. Cal., 15" h. Finney, a native of Plymouth, Massachusettes, and a whaler earlier in life, moved to San Francisco and became the first professional scrimshaw artist, doing most of his work on commission. This pair is significant because it celebrate
