Gallery 1 · Finding the Way
Scrimshaw Powder Horn
Unknown sailor aboard the Mary Ellen, 1841
Engraved cow horn, ink, wooden plug
On long voyages sailors filled quiet hours by engraving pictures into bone and horn. This powder horn shows the ship its maker sailed on, a compass rose, and a name that was probably someone waiting for him at home.
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Scrimshaw was made with simple tools: a sailmaker's needle or a pocket knife to scratch the design, then soot or ink rubbed into the lines to make them stand out.
The ship on this horn is carefully drawn, with every sail and rope in place, which suggests the maker knew her rigging by heart. Beneath it he engraved the date, 1841, and the name Eliza inside a wreath of flowers.
We do not know who made it, or whether he came home. The horn was found in a sea chest donated to the museum in 1978.