COURTESY OF THE NANTUCKET HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION
NANTUCKET – Two new pieces are being added to exhibits at the Nantucket Whaling Museum thanks to the Friends of the Nantucket Historical Association, which recently purchased two gifts – a scrimshaw tooth and a painting.
The scrimshaw piece depicts the whaling ship George Clinton, of Hudson, New York in 1835, on a sperm whale’s tooth.
The piece was purchased in July at Eldred’s Auction House in Dennis and is currently on display in the Whaling Museum’s Scrimshaw Gallery.
The painting is of the clipper ship Midnight by Chinese artist Hing Qua, circa 1855.
The Midnight of Boston was commanded by Nantucketer George Brock from 1858 to 1865 and 1860 to 1872.
The painting compliments many items in the NHA’s collection that were brought to the U.S. from China aboard the Midnight, including Chinese porcelain and clothing, gold flakes from the California Gold Rush and many others.
This piece was purchased in August and will hang in the museum beginning in 2018.
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