Check Out the New Exhibition at Mariners’ Museum Featuring Handmade Works of Art
New Exhibition at Mariners’ Museum Features Handmade Works of Art
Opening this Saturday, February 3, The Mariners’ Museum and Park will open a new exhibition featuring more than 60 items made by sailors or artisans at sea.
For centuries, sailors used their leisure time to create objects and artworks that document life at sea, commemorate historic events, or simply celebrate the extraordinary skill of the maker. Scrimshaw – carved or engraved whale ivory or walrus tusks, made by whalers – is one of the most well-known, sailor-made arts. Over hundreds of years, many began additional hobbies using materials they had on hand to fill their time while traveling the oceans.
Jeanne Willoz-Egnor, Director of Collections Management at the Museum, served as the curator for this exhibition. “Over the past few months, I have spent a great deal of time scouring the Museum’s collection for sailor-made objects and artworks. It was difficult choosing which items to include from among the thousands of amazing pieces in the collection, but the result is a display of unique items that reflect the lives, values, and extraordinary skill of their makers. For many objects, this will be the first time they have been on public display,” said Willoz-Egnor.
One of the most important artifacts in the exhibition is a watch stand made by Nantucket whaleman Charles Tobey in 1819 as his ship, the Lady Adams, rounded Cape Horn. The piece was made less than 30 years after American whalers first headed into the Pacific to hunt the vast herds of sperm whales that resided there. The watch stand’s beautiful imagery features symbols of faith, hope, love, and family. It most likely reflects Tobey’s love of his family and desire to return home safely.
Visitors to the exhibition will see numerous works of art, scrimshaw, decorative knotwork, and household items that will provide a glimpse into the daily lives of those who made their livelihoods on the sea.
For more information, please visit www.MarinersMuseum.org/sailor-
The Mariners’ Museum and Park connects people to the world’s waters because through the water – through our shared maritime heritage – we are connected to one another. The organization is an educational, non-profit institution accredited by the American Alliance of Museums and preserves and interprets maritime history through an international collection of ship models, figureheads, paintings, and other maritime artifacts. The Mariners’ Museum is home to the USS Monitor Center, and is surrounded by the 550-acre Mariners’ Museum Park, the largest privately maintained park open to the public in North America. The Mariners’ Museum Library is the largest maritime library in the Western hemisphere. Because of the Museum’s world-class collection and its reputation for high-level exhibits and programs, in 1999, the U.S. Congress designated The Mariners’ Museum as one of only two maritime museums that comprise America’s National Maritime Museum. For hours and information, visit MarinersMuseum.org, call (757) 596-2222 or write to The Mariners’ Museum, 100 Museum Drive, Newport News, VA 23606.
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