The Alchemy of Enamelling for Equality an Exhibition Preview by Irene Cockroft

hearts, flowers, pretty ladies or simply geometric patterns. Just as common yet less well known were all the other items made by the sailors using any materials that were available, including ivories, bone (usually the large jaw bone of the whale but also others). wood, rope, mother- of-pearl, and coconut shell. These were turned into a multitude of items, varying from knitting needles, sewing accessories, kitchen utensils, (pastry crimpers were a favourite), ornate walking canes, baskets, delicate drawing instruments such as rulers and squares, to heavy-duty tools such as mallets and cleats for the ship. The more delicate and fancy items tended to be made of Plastic imitation sperm whale tooth. ivory, whilst more robust items that were not made to be admired were of less valuable material. has been used as an inlay material, especially the later ones made from More careful workmanship went but there has been little or no use of epoxy resin poured into a silicone into the things that were going to be any other organic gem materials with rubber mould, given enough weight to on show or be used for delicate the notable exception of scrimshaw. simulate ivory and mounted so that the purposes. Thus the whole teeth which Although it was already produced by base and the inside are not visible. were for ornamentation were European whaling fleets in the 17th Collections of scrimshaw can be decorated with pictures, whilst sewing century, it was made famous and seen in the Town Docks Museum in accessories were very finely carved given its name by the Americans Hull, England, and in various though not necessarily etched. who, with three times the number of museums in New England in the In Europe and Asia organic gem whaling vessels, dominated the United States, for example at Mystic materials have been highly prized for industry. The Golden Age of Seaport Whaling Museum in centuries and used in a multitude of American scrimshaw was the early to Connecticut, the Kendall Whaling different ways for decorative mid 19th century. Museum in Massachusetts, and the purposes. In America pearls and Scrimshaw has been faked, Peabody Essex Museum of Salem, coral were used in jewellery and usually copying whole, etched teeth. near Boston. more recently some mother-of-pearl These can be very convincing, Maggie Campbell Pedersen

The Alchemy of Enamelling for Equality An exhibition preview by Irene Cockroft

ecause of its precious nature and early 20th centuries enamelling and its durability, enamelling was used in all these age-old ways to Enamelling for Equality Exhibition B has from time immemorial support an entirely new 16 April - 14 July 2002 Cecil been used politically. It has been phenomenon, Women's Suffrage. Higgins Art Gallery, Bedford used as personal adornment The Cecil Higgins Art Gallery, (seep. 27). reinforcing status. It has been used Bedford, is mounting a unique for pictorial religious teaching and for exhibition that transforms social creating instruments of devotion. history into a visual treat. movement. The second is the Enamelling h·as been used as a The fusing of two historic Women's Suffrage campaign. medium for commemorating famous ingredients makes Enamelling for Enamelling for Equality brings events and for immortalizing political Equality a seminal exhibition. The together a dazzling array of art figures and heroes. In the late 19th first ingredient is the Arts and Crafts objects to demonstrate how crafty

32 Gem & Jewellery News • March 2002