{"id":53765,"date":"2025-11-19T14:58:55","date_gmt":"2025-11-19T19:58:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nha.org\/?post_type=exhibition&p=53765"},"modified":"2026-01-21T11:53:46","modified_gmt":"2026-01-21T16:53:46","slug":"the-wider-world-scrimshaw","status":"publish","type":"exhibition","link":"https:\/\/nha.org\/whats-on\/exhibitions\/upcoming-exhibits\/the-wider-world-scrimshaw\/","title":{"rendered":"The Wider World & Scrimshaw"},"content":{"rendered":"

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About the Exhibition<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/strong><\/h2>\n

The Nantucket Whaling Museum will be the first venue to host the traveling exhibition The Wider World & Scrimshaw<\/em>, organized by the New Bedford Whaling Museum with support provided by Art Bridges.<\/p>\n

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M\u0101ori maker once known (Aotearoa), tat\u0101 (canoe bailer), 1800s. Wood, 7 1\/4 x 11 1\/2 x 19 1\/2 in. New Bedford Whaling Museum, 00.200.735.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The Wider World & Scrimshaw<\/span><\/i> will survey carving traditions that emerged along whaling routes in the Paci\ufb01c world, showcasing over 300 objects and setting scrimshaw\u2014the folk art made by whalers on the body parts of whales\u2014in conversation with carved decorative arts and material culture made by Indigenous community members from across Oceania, the Pacific, and the Arctic.\u202f\u202f\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe Nantucket Historical Association is pleased to work with our colleagues at the New Bedford Whaling Museum in order to share this exhibition and important research,\u201d said Niles Parker, Gosnell Executive Director of the NHA. \u201cBy applying a wider lens to our understanding of whaling, exploration, and artistic creativity, we can better understand the cultural exchange taking place which influenced disparate societies around the world.\u201d<\/span><\/i>\u00a0<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

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Billy \u201cBilliken\u201d Komoneseok (I\u00f1upiaq), Cribbage board, 1908-1912. Engraved walrus ivory, 3 x 2 x 27 3\/8 in. New Bedford Whaling Museum, 2001.100.2255.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The Wider World & Scrimshaw<\/em> will foreground the work of Native communities across Oceania, the Pacific, and Arctic, many of whom have cosmologies related to whales, distinctive maritime traditions involving marine mammals, and vibrant carving styles. It will also explore how Native communities in the Pacific world were impacted by commercial whaling ventures in the 1800s and the external pressures of colonialism and Western empire-building. Engaging in questions about identity, place, and material, The Wider World & Scrimshaw<\/em> will consider the impact of exploration and whaling on the production of material culture in the Pacific world between 1700 and today.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe NHA\u2019s Whaling Museum interprets the history of 19th century American whaling, where whale-hunting voyages from New England headed to all corners of the Pacific world. The Wider World & Scrimshaw<\/em> exhibition will bring non-New England perspectives into our museum and help our visitors understand the cultural interactions that resulted from this commercial activity,\u201d said Michael Harrison, NHA Chief Curator and Obed Macy Research Chair. \u201cThe NHA is excited to share this significant exhibition with our visitors and to open up our interpretation of whaler\u2019s scrimshaw to new and broader perspectives.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

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Exhibition<\/span><\/span> Themes\u00a0<\/span><\/strong><\/h2>\n
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Aboriginal maker once known (Aboriginal Australian, possibly Eden), Dreamtime tooth (front), 1800s. Engraved sperm whale ivory, 2 5\/8 x 5 \u00bc in. New Bedford Whaling Museum, 00.195.47.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

An interdisciplinary, community-driven, and collections-focused exhibition, The Wider World & Scrimshaw<\/em> will connect the historical and contemporary through cultural products ranging from Oceanic material culture and Arctic carvings to engraved sperm whale teeth. Short films and touchable samples of natural materials and carving techniques will provide additional opportunities to engage with exhibition themes that include:<\/p>\n