Tuesday, September 13, 2011

Morris Dancers Etched in Bone


Illustration of William Kempe morris dancing from London to Norwich in 1600
(Wikipedia)


I do love photographing and writing about these beautiful pieces of art, they provide me with hours of pleasure and hours of reading material. Many of these objects have a story and connection with the people that made them, they give us a glimpse into history and how life was long ago. We 'touch' the past when holding one of these precious objects. A piece of whalebone art can stir the imagination and cause one to explore a world of scrimshaw, carving tools, whaling and trading, pirates, men lost at sea and sea monsters (that is a good one for the imagination - we will do a posting on sea monsters at some point !). It is very important that we respect and preserve pieces from our past - once they are gone - they are gone.

I never know which tool or artifact my father-in-law will surprise me with for our new blog stories here on Relics and Tales. He loves to surprise us with very interesting and unusual items and his hopes are that we will learn from this experience. It is so easy to get caught up with technology and a fast-paced world and to lose touch with creative potential and practical skills. The ancestors of our world have much to teach us today.

A little piece of history are these beautiful whalebone scrimshaw Morris dance sticks, carved by whalers and the date is shown. These sticks were probably played like spoons which gave a great rhythm and sound. We attach a few photos for you and hope you enjoy this visit. Thank you so much for visiting our website! If you have any questions or thoughts, please leave us a message in the 'comments' section. We appreciate feedback from our viewers. Thank you!














1 comment:

Gillian Olson said...

These are really interesting. How big are they?

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