19th Century Scrimshaw Bodkin with Pointing Hand American art pottery with overlapping rings of inwardly

with overlapping rings of inwardly pointing triangles

of what was most likely a woman venturing out on a stroll along the seashore again and again to collect and then carefully preserve them

13 inches long overall x 3/8" wide and deep

but was numbered by hand and shows a couple of impressed letters and numbers

19th Century Scrimshaw Bodkin with Pointing Hand American art pottery with overlapping rings of inwardlyAnother 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