AMERICAN OR SCOTTISH, ATTRIBUTED TO B. BIFER, 19TH CENTURY

Details

A PAIR OF RELIEF CARVED AND ENGRAVED SCRIMSHAW WHALES TEETH
American or Scottish, attributed to B. Bifer, 19th century
Each depicting full standing male and female figures of Pict warriors each holding a spear and ornamented with tattoos mounted on rosewood stands small chip to tip of one tooth
7in. high, excluding base (2)

Provenance

E. Norman Flayderman

Literature

E. Norman Flayderman, Scrimshaw and Scrimshanders (New Milford, CT 1972) p. 63

Special notice

Notice Regarding the Sale of Material from Endangered Species. Prospective purchasers are advised that several countries prohibit the importation of property containing materials from endangered species, including but not limited to coral, ivory and tortoiseshell. Accordingly, prospective purchasers should familiarize themselves with relevant customs regulations prior to bidding if they intend to import this lot into another country

Lot Essay

As Stuart M. Frank notes in his Dictionary of Scrimshaw Artists (Mystic, Connecticut, 1991), a small group of remarkable relief-carved teeth are attributable to B. Bifer, based on a privately owned pair that are signed almost illegibly. Frank illustrates a closely related female figure on page 15.

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