19th Century Scrimshaw Bodkin with Pointing Hand American art pottery as expressive

as expressive

To my eye a total charmer

with overlapping rings of inwardly pointing triangles

This terrific tin sign was issued by the Massachusetts Woman Suffrage Association to support a 1915 state referendum to give Massachusetts women the vote

19th Century Scrimshaw Bodkin with Pointing Hand American art pottery as expressiveAnother 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