Relic of Charles Darwin’s Voyage May Fetch £50,000

The Times (London) ^ | March 24, 2009

[nickcarraway]

London A whale’s tooth carved by a member of the expedition on HMS Beagle that included a 25-year-old Charles Darwin is to be sold at auction, it was announced yesterday.

The 7in tooth was decorated by James Bute, a Marine serving on the Beagle’s voyage around the world in 1834, during which Darwin carried out research that formed the basis for his theory of evolution.

The elaborate scrimshaw (the technical name for carving on whale bones and teeth) shows the Beagle in rough seas off a mountainous coastline on one side of the tooth, and on the other side, the ship laid up for repairs.

There are only four other examples of Bute’s work in existence, and the piece is expected to fetch £30,000 to £50,000 when it is auctioned by Bonhams in London on September 16.

Jon Baddeley of Bonhams said that the work was the most important piece of British scrimshaw he had seen come to market in his 30-year career. “It would be fantastic to beat the record for a British scrimshaw in the year that we celebrate Darwin’s historic voyage to the Galapagos,” he said.

[nickcarraway]

[Quix]

Ahhhhhhhhhhhhh

a sacred icon of the

RELIGION OF SCIENTISM

sponsored by hell in the interests of hell by devotees [consciously or un-] of hell.