Finally finished the Kraken scrimshaw with a coat of archival wax and a couple of touchups. “The Kraken is a mythical sea monster first documented in 1250 in Iceland. Pierre Denys de Montfort penned the original illustration in 1801, after he was inspired by a description from 1783 of an eight-metre long tentacle found in the mouth of a sperm whale. The ancient piece of mammoth ivory measures 15/16″x 1-1/2”, and was hand scribed using a tungsten carbide scribe from Coulter Precision Tools (also on Etsy). The pigment is Windsor and Newton Oil Paint, has been coated with an archival wax and placed inside a frame. Comes with a write-up about the piece signed by the scrimshaw artist including “Kraken Lore” and the care of ivory. I do very few pieces during the year, and this one was done over several months in early 2012.
Available at Etsy.com
