19th Century Scrimshaw Bodkin with Pointing Hand American art pottery but was numbered by hand

but was numbered by hand and shows a couple of impressed letters and numbers

13 inches long overall x 3/8" wide and deep

miniature ones especially

Graphite on ledger paper

as expressive

19th Century Scrimshaw Bodkin with Pointing Hand American art pottery but was numbered by handAnother 19th century sailor whaler made bone bodkin with a hand at the opposite end, which I purchased from a longtime dealer of antique maritime objects. This a diminutive one, just a hair longer than 2 inches, which to me makes the carving of this pointing hand, whalebone I believe, seem all the more amazing. With nicely carved bands and stars characteristic of these, and a sharp point at the opposite end, useful for piercing fabric or pushing